


Cake

by StarTrekkin08



Series: Dinner series [2]
Category: Star Trek: Voyager
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Anxiety, Bitterness, Bittersweet, Christmas Fluff, Comfort/Angst, Cutesy, Dorvan V (Star Trek), Episode Fix-It: s07e25 Endgame (Star Trek: Voyager), Episode: s07e25 Endgame (Star Trek: Voyager), F/M, Family Feels, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Gen, Laughter, Loss, Love, Missing Scene, Post-Episode: s07e25 Endgame (Star Trek: Voyager), Sex Toys Under Clothing, Sexy Times, Sisters, Slow Burn-ish, Smut, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, no C/7 - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-19
Updated: 2020-07-16
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:08:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 57,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24809788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarTrekkin08/pseuds/StarTrekkin08
Summary: Captain Kathryn Janeway must be able to have her cake and eat it, too.
Relationships: Chakotay & Kathryn Janeway, Chakotay/Kathryn Janeway, Tom Paris/B'Elanna Torres, no C/7
Series: Dinner series [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1793458
Comments: 52
Kudos: 83





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Soooo....this started as a one-shot with, "Dinner," which was supposed to be one chapter (You must read that story first before this one).  
> Then you guys wanted more....then more....😳  
> and now, to present to the continuation and yet official start to my unplanned first Endgame story and fix. 😄
> 
> P.S. Don't skip the dialogue from the episode. I have changed up words and it does make a difference to the story.

She sat in her Ready Room. Her brain was completely fried. Her future counterpart had arrived that day and told her that there indeed was a way home through that nebula they had passed that was crawling with Borg. She noticed she drank tea. She thought that was odd. She didn't say it was because she couldn't drink coffee anymore. Chakotay liked tea...

The day threw her for a loop. The admiral had already went to her quarters for the night.

Chakotay came into her Ready Room. "The Borg armor is coming along. We may be able to even go back to the nebula tomorrow," he said.

Kathryn sat down the PADD on her lap and stretched her eyes. "We'll see. I'm burned out with the new formulas. The admiral already went to bed and I'm thinking I should, too. I can't even read straight anymore."

"I was planning on doing that as well. I'll accompany you there," he said.

Kathryn grabbed the PADD and stood up and returned the coffee mug to the recycler.

"Which cup of coffee number was that?" Chakotay joked as she joined him.

"Uh, I lost count."

He made a tsk, tsk sound.

"I know, I know," she said as they left the Ready Room. She added, "But you can't lecture me on coffee."

"Why not?"

"Most teas have more caffeine than coffee does."

"True, but I'm not an addict like you are."

The stepped into the turbolift. "Deck three. It tastes good and it energizes me. Tea...is too much like water," she said.

"Maybe if switched to tea, maybe you'd drink less but still get as much caffeine. Maybe even something like unsweetened Chai Tea."

Kathryn gaped her mouth open and looked at him.

"What? What did I say? Was it so preposterous?"

She held a breath and let out a strained chuckle. "The admiral doesn't drink coffee."

"She doesn't?"

"No. In her words she said," and she emulated the admiral, "'No, I gave it up years ago. I only drink tea now.'"

He laughed and said, "You're kidding!"

The turbolift doors opened and they exited.

"Nope. Even more reason for her to have a DNA scan afterwards."

"Maybe that Voyager could no longer replicate coffee...and she got used to it," Chakotay said shrugged.

"Shut your mouth!" She exasperated and gave him a slight shove and he smiled.

"Well, goodnight. See you in the morning," she said when they reached her quarters.

"You, too. See you in the morning, Kathryn.

...

  
She was furious. The admiral knew that they were not simply bypassing a few Borg cubes to slip into a wormhole or aperture in that nebula. It was a Borg transwarp hub. The hornet's nest. Each of those conduits, even the one leading to the Alpha Quadrant, could have an unknown amount of Borg cubes hiding within it. The Borg queen was already aware of their presence. She even gave a threat through Seven. Kathryn decided to blow it up to high heaven...or hell, in this case.

After stop on Astrophysics, she and the admiral took a walk.

Kathryn barked, "I want to know why you didn't tell me about this."

The admiral responded, "Because I remember how stubborn and self-righteous I used to be. I figured you might try to do something stupid."

Even more angry, Kathryn said, "We have an opportunity to deal a crippling blow to the Borg. It could save _millions_ of lives."

"I didn't spend the last ten years looking for a way to get this crew home earlier, so you could throw it all away on some intergalactic goodwill mission," the admiral crassly said.

"Maybe we should go back to Sickbay."

"Why, so you can have me sedated?"

"So I can have the Doctor reconfirm your identity. I refuse to believe I'll ever become as cynical as _you_. Or that I would ever switch from coffee. "

"Am I the only one experiencing déjà vu here?"

Kathryn said quizzically, "What are you talking about?"

"Seven years ago you had the chance to use the Caretaker's array to get Voyager home. Instead, you destroyed it."

With a sigh, Kathryn said calmly, "I did what I knew was right." Of course, that never freed her from her guilt.

"You chose to put the lives of strangers ahead of the lives of your crew. You can't make the same mistake again," the admiral said.

Kathryn pointed out, " _You_ got Voyager home, which means _I_ will, too. If it takes a few more years then that's-"

"Chakotay is going to die," the admiral said in a bombshell statement.

Kathryn stopped walking and faced the admiral, and said " _What?_ "

The admiral looked her dead in the eye and explained, "Three years from now. He'll be injured on an away mission. He'll make it back to Voyager and die in the arms of his wife."

Kathryn's stomach tightened and she said, "Wife?"

" ** _You_**. You'll never be the same after Chakotay's death, and neither will your crew."

She couldn't continue to look at her and walked past her across the hallway. Kathryn was trying to calmly process the information and ran her hands through her hair. "If I know what's going to happen, I can avoid it."

"Chakotay isn't the only one. Between this day and the day I got Voyager home, I lost twenty-two crew members. And then of course, there's Tuvok."

She quickly turned around. "What about him?"

"You're forgetting the Temporal Prime Directive, Captain."

Kathryn spat, "You obviously don't care with what you already shared. You can't just drop that information in my lap and leave it there. The hell with it."

"Fine. Tuvok has a degenerative neurological condition that he hasn't told you about. There's a cure in the Alpha Quadrant, but if he doesn't get it in time...."

'He will lose his mind and he will die,' Kathryn thought, finishing the admiral's way of thinking.

"Even if you alter Voyager's route, limit your contact with alien species, you're going to lose people. But I'm offering you a chance to get all of them home safe and sound today. Are you really going to walk away from that?" The admiral implored.

....

  
"Hey," he said as he entered the holodeck.

"Hi," she mumbled as she sat on the swing in the holoprogram he made for her.

"I've been looking for you. I thought you'd be with the admiral."

"She's in Astrometrics. I just needed a breather," Kathryn said as she gripped the coarse ropes of the swing and looked down towards her lap.

Chakotay walked over and kneeled on his haunches in front of her and placed his hands on her knees. "Heyyy," he said in a soothing voice. He looked up into her eyes. "What's up?"

She said quietly, "What should I do, Chakotay? I don't know what to do. This may be our last chance. It _is_ our last chance quicker, according to the admiral."

Chakotay said, "This isn't your decision. It's our decision. It will be _our_ decision. Together. This time, you will not be feeding on another decision in which you place guilt upon yourself."

Kathryn let out a sigh. Then, at that moment, her combadge chirped.

'Tuvok to Captain Janeway.'

She tapped the combadge and looked up.

"Janeway here."

"We have the plan ready to destroy the transwarp hub ready in astrometrics."

She thought for a moment and said, "Inform the chief officers and the admiral that we'll go over it in the briefing room together in five minutes"

Chakotay let out a soft smile.

'Understood. Tuvok out.'

Kathryn stood up and said, "Well, are you're coming?" She held out her hand to help him up.

"Of, course," he said as he stood up.

They walked towards the holodeck door and Chakotay said, "We've hardly had a chance to talk all day. How about dinner tonight?"

"No admirals allowed," he added.

She guffawed and said, "Okay."

"Good. Leave it to me," he said. They exited the holodeck and made their way down the hall.

She was quiet.

Chakotay asked, "There's something else bugging you, isn't there?"

"Tuvok has a degenerative brain disease that has already started to take action. His only cure is to mind meld with someone from his own family and only his own family. It's called fal-tor-voh. If he continues on, in a few years, he'll no longer be fit for for duty."

"Oh, I see."

They entered the turbolift.

"Bridge," he said. "He didn't say anything about it during the plan to destroy the hub."

"I know. When I asked him when I found out, he just said it would be saving millions of lives compared to one. He even quoted Ambassador Spock about the needs of the many."

"I can see him doing that."

"Yeah. Stubborn Vulcan. He knew for months!"

Chakotay chuckled. "You both are stubborn."

She gave him a glare. "No," she quickly stated, proving his point intentionally and gave him a side look.

They both cracked up and were laughing when the turbolift made it to the bridge.

The two made their way to the briefing room, where everyone was ready to go. The admiral stood by the viewport while everyone else hovered around the wall console.

...

"Once inside, we'd fire a spread of transphasic torpedoes," Tuvok explained.

Seven continued, "They'd be programmed to detonate simultaneously."

"If the torpedoes penetrate the shielding, the conduits should begin to collapse in a cascade reaction. In order to avoid the shock wave, we'd have less than ten seconds to exit the hub," Tuvok wrapped up.

Kayhryn said as she wandered around and looked at them all, "A long time ago, I made a decision that stranded this crew in the Delta Quadrant. I don't regret that decision. But I didn't know all of you then, and Voyager was just a starship. It's much more than that now. It's become our home. I know I could order you to carry out this plan and none of you would hesitate for a second, but I'm not going to do that. You know the crewmen who work under you, and you know what your own hearts are telling you," she looked at Chakotay.

  
Then she looked back at the room. "So we're not going to attempt this unless everyone in this room agrees. No one will think less of you if you don't," She looked at Harry.

"Captain?" Harry questioned.

"Go ahead, Harry," she said.

Harry understood and said, "I think it's safe to say that no one on this crew has been more obsessed with getting home than I have. But, when I think about everything we've been through together, maybe it's not the destination that matters. Maybe it's the journey. And if that journey takes a little longer so we can do something we all believe in, I can't think of any place I'd rather be, or any people I'd rather be with."

Tom raised his mug and said, "To the journey."

"Hear, hear," Chakotay also raised his mug.

They all said, "To the journey!" And raised their mugs to cheer. Before Kathryn took a sip from her mug, she noticed the admiral staring at her, made a side glance at Chakotay, the looked back at her. Kayhryn watched her over the top of her mug as she drank.

...

"Well, it looks like we're out here for a bit longer," Chakotay said as they ate dinner.

" _Sixteen years_ or more, to be exact," she said as she ate a piece of steamed broccoli.

"If only there was another way," Kathryn added.

"True. At least I have some fine company."

She gave a little smile. He was always good at twisting the bad into something positive. How was he once a Maquis, again?

"Did you ever think about what you would do if we did make it back today?" Chakotay asked.

"Uhh... no... and yes.

He lifted an eyebrow at her indecisiveness.

"I... don't like to plan to much when it comes to making it back." She looked at her food." I've been burned too much on that line of thought. That hope. It just makes it that much painful when we're disappointed again."

"Humor me," Chakotay said after drinking a sip of wine.

"Once everything checked out I would visit my mother and my sister. I need to figure out where to stay since I know from our data streams that my office is gone and so is my apartment. I guess I'll see what Starfleet would assign or offer me," she shrugged.

"I thought if the Maquis are granted pardons, that I would see my sister on Dorvan V. Maybe see what Starfleet offers, too. Maybe I'll continue as I am now or maybe I'll try to get a professorship in anthropology."

" _Pardons_. If they didn't give you them after your records on Voyager, I'll shove it so far up their brass rears they'll be seeing stars. I might even turn the ship around after dumping everyone else off!" She said with humor but there was an undertone of anger and hurt of the idea.

She stood up to collect their plates and put them in the recycler. Upon return, Chakotay caught her right wrist and pulled her to face him.

"Don't be upset. I'm sure we will be given pardons. In the rare chance we are not, you'll know where to find me," he smiled.

"I'll sneak you a file in a cake," she smiled.

"I'd like that," he said, still holding her hand and stroking it with his thumb.

Kathryn's breathing became shallow and she felt her goosebumps raise under her uniform.

"Would you like some more wine or water?" She asked.

"No, thanks, I'm set."

Chakotay was still stroking her hand.

"We'll I'm going to pour myself some."

Chakotay let her hand slip out as she reached for the pitcher and and walked to her seat, safely pouring the water into her glass.

She pulled the glass closer to her and took some sips before setting it back down.

"Well, wherever we are, I don't want it to be too far," Chakotay said.

Kathryn smiled and said, "Yes. Someone's got to make sure you stay out of trouble."

Chakotay let out a large belly laugh at that.

"Well, it's late. We should get our sleep. I guess I'll say goodnight," as he backed out of his chair.

She stood up to walk him to the door.

When they reached the door he said, "Goodnight, Kathryn. Sleep well."

"Goodnight, Chakotay. You sleep well, too."

He smiled softly, nodded, and left her quarters.

  
...

But she couldn't sleep. Her mind was flooded with the events of the day. The transwarp hub, Tuvok, pardons, Chakotay stroking her hand...

She decided to throw on her uniform and go to the mess hall. She ordered some coffee when she got to the empty space and sat at one of the couches toward the view port.

As she nursed the coffee mug in her hand while she looked at the stars, she heard a voice say, "Coffee, black," to the replicator. Kathryn looked over to see the admiral removing the coffee from the replicator.

Kathryn said, "I thought you gave it up."

"I've decided to revive a few of my old habits," the admiral said and walked towards the viewport.

Kathryn asked, "Oh? What else, besides the coffee?"

"Oh, well... I used to be much more idealistic. I took a lot of risks. I've been so determined to get this crew home for so many years... that I think I forgot how much they loved being together..." she turned and looked at Kathryn, "and how _loyal_ they were to you."

The admiral stepped towards her and said, "It's taken me a few days to realize it. This is _your_ ship, your crew. Not mine. I was wrong to lie to you, to think I could talk you out of something you'd set your mind to."

Kathryn said, "You were only trying to do what you thought was right for all of us."

The admiral sat down and said, "Well, you've changed my mind about that. And I'd like to help you carry out your mission. Maybe together we can increase our odds."

"Maybe we can do more than that. There's _got_ to be a way to have our cake and eat it too," Kathryn said, thinking about what she said to Chakotay earlier.

"We can't destroy the hub and get Voyager home," the admiral pointed out.

"Are you _absolutely_ sure about that?" Kathryn replied.

She hesitated and said, "There might be a way. I considered it once, but it seemed too risky."

"That was before you decided to revive your old habits," Kathryn said.

"Well, didn't Admiral Kirk once say that, "'Risk is our business?" The admiral smelled the aroma of the coffee and said, "I don't know why I ever gave this up."

Kathryn smiled and the hacked out a plan.

...

That morning, the she ran the plan over with Chakotay in her ready room before mentioning it to the crew.

"I think it can work. It'll be very close."

"I know," she said as he paced while he sat on the edge of the couch.

"Do you think it's an option? That I-or the admiral-are not out of our minds?"

He smiled and tapped his combadge. "Tuvok, gather all the senior staff and the admiral into the briefing room. We have another plan."

'Yes, commander.'

Kathryn said, "I guess we'll find out again, huh?"

"Yep."

...

Kathryn and the admiral shared their plan with them and asked the senior staff their thoughts.

"The theory is sound," Tuvok said.

"It is a possibility," Seven confirmed.

"Well, Harry?" The captain asked him again.

Harry smiled and said, "Let's do it!"

Kathryn looked at the others, still uncertain what they will say.

"Resistance is not futile!" Said Tom.

"This baby is gonna come out fighting!" B'Elanna said.

Chakotay said, "To new possibilities!"

They were all on board.

...

  
Kathryn entered the shuttle.

"It's about time. I'm not getting any younger, you know," the admiral joked.

"You're sure you want to do this?"

The admiral hesitated and said, "NO,... but Voyager isn't big enough for both of us."

Kathryn placed the hypospray with the neurolytic pathogen on the admiral and said, "Good luck, Admiral."

"You, too. Captain. I'm glad I got to know you again.

Kathryn smiled and exited the shuttle.

...

  
Kathryn made her way to the bridge when he heard Chakotay communicating with Seven over the com. He said, "Any word from the admiral?"

Seven replied, 'We lost contact as soon as she entered the hub.'

"Did the Borg give her any trouble?"

'Her vessel was scanned by several cubes but none have approached her, commander.'

"Very good. Well finish from up here. Chakotay out."

Kathryn said on the com, "Bridge to Lieutenant Paris. We're ready to get underway."

'Captain, I'm afraid-'

After a delay she asked, "Is there a problem, Mister Paris?"

Tom answered, 'On my way, Captain.'

They played what felt like the longest game of "Chicken" while hiding in the nebula. Kathryn was subconsciously holding her breath.

When Seven and Tom resumed their stations she looked at the aperture said to Tom, "Take us in."

He replied, "Aye, Captain."

The ship sailed into the aperture.

Seven said, "The admiral's succeeded, Captain. The conduit's shielding is destabilizing."

**Go time.**

"Now, Mister Tuvok," he commanded and he set off the three transphasic torpedoes. The ship was hit multiple times by the Borg sphere that appeared in the subspace corridor.

Tuvok stated, "Aft armour is down to six percent."

Harry added, "Hull breaches on decks six through twelve."

"I can't stay ahead of them, Captain," Tom said.

Tuvok claimed, "The armor is failing."

"Where's the nearest aperture?" Chakotay asked from his seat.

Seven answered, "Approximately thirty seconds ahead, but it leads back to the Delta Quadrant."

Kathryn she said, "Mister Paris, prepare to adjust your heading," and gulped down that possibility.

The Borg sphere tractor beamed them.The ship continued to be barraged within the Borg sphere. Consoles exploded in the carnage.  
Then, the turmoil smoothed. From where they were in the eye of the storm, they had a tunnel vision of what seemed to be out of the corridor.

Kathryn's heart thundered as she stood up from her chair and asked, "Mister Paris, what's our position?"

Tom answered, "Right where we expect it to be."

Seven confirmed, "The transwarp network has been obliterated, Captain."

But there was still a Borg threat. In the Alpha Quadrant. And they were in it. They needed to destroy and get the hell out of the Borg ship.

Kathryn said, "We'll celebrate later. Mister Tuvok?"

Tuvok fired torpedo and the sphere exploded. Their warp drive felt it had entered a very rocky slipstream as they pummeled forward and shockwave followed from behind them. It felt like they were going to be torn to shreds before they made it to safety.

Then, suddenly, the eye of the storm had passed as they shot out of it...and landed upon a sea of starships.

Kathryn couldn't believe it. "We did it," she said.

Harry said, "We're being hailed."

It was the first time in a very long time she actually wanted to hear this words.

Kathryn automatically said, "On screen."

She recognized Admiral Paris and Lieutenant Barclay.

The first words that she could think of were, "Sorry to surprise you. Next time we'll call ahead."

"Welcome back," Admiral Paris warmly greeted.

"It's good to be here."

"How did you-"

"It'll all be in my report, sir."

"I look forward to it," Admiral Paris said and he looked and Tom and her before ending the transmission.

Kathryn thought of the admiral and writing about her in her report, "Thanks for your help, Admiral Janeway," she whispered.

Over the com, the Doctor says, 'Sickbay to the bridge.'

The bridge could her the wailing cries of a newborn Paris.

He continued, 'Doctor to Lieutenant Paris. There's someone here who'd like to say hello.'

She smiled and looked towards her pilot. "You'd better get down there, Tom."

"Yes, ma'am," he answered and quickly made his way to the turbolift.

Kathryn turned to look at Chakotay bit she didn't have to look far. In all the all of the chaos she didn't notice that he had been standing right beside her.

She smiled and gestured to the pilot's seat, "Mr. Chakotay, the helm."

He replied, "Aye, Captain."

"Oh, and commander," he looked over to her, "Don't crash our ship," she teased.

He gave a dimpled chuckle and she set her hand on his right shoulder. Kathryn said to Chakotay, "Set a course... for _home_."


	2. Check-Out Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Voyager command team has a lot to do before they can step foot on Earth.

Kathryn was memorized by the viewscreen. She didn't expect thirty-eight starships to be escorting Voyager to Earth. Of course, if it wasn't for the Borg hub, they would've met no one until they ran into a starship. She tried recognizing all of them, but some were to far to distinguish a specific ship from its class.

"Captain?"

Kathryn looked down at Chakotay. She realized she was holding a tight grip on Chakotay's arm.

"Oh, sorry," she said and took her hand off of his shoulder.

"Your hand was shaking every fiber in my body. I know you don't want me to crash," he said, "but I'm not _that_ bad," he teased with a smile.

She laughed some stress off. He knew it wasn't that. She glanced down at her hands and they were trembling with a cocktail of adrenaline, stress, anxiety, and joy. She folded her hands behind her back.

Tuvok said, "Captain, Admiral Patterson is hailing."

She nodded and said, "Onscreen."

'Well, Katie, I didn't expect to see you so soon.'

Kathryn smiled at the nickname and said, "Quite frankly admiral, neither did I."

'Looks like you will be docking at Mckinley Station. I am on my way there from Utopia Planetia. Starfleet will have me take a look at Voyager to see if I will need to fly it out to Utopia Planetia for further inspection or repairs. I can't wait to see you.'

"Likewise."

'Seen you soon. Patterson out.'

"You heard the man, Chakotay."

"Setting our course for McKinley Station."

Ensign Jenkins relieved Commander Chakotay from the helm and he stood up. "I'm going to check on Voyager's new baby. Want to come?"

"Absolutely."

They walked towards the turbolift. "Tuvok, you have the bridge. We'll be in sickbay," she said as they walked past the tactical station and onto the turbolift.

The doors closed and they started their descent. Chakotay looked at her and stood close to her. He said, "How are you feeling?"

Kathryn put her hands wide out in front of her. "I can't believe we're here. Maybe stunned. Overwhelmed? Ask me again in an hour. Right now I just want to see that baby girl who was screaming on the top of be lungs."

She turned and said, "What about you?" "Happy. Curious about what will happen in the next few hours. I can't believe it, either." He looked at her and said, "I wonder who won the baby bet?"

"Tom has the list," she said as the doors opened, "We'll have to ask. I know I didn't win."

"Me, neither," he said and chuckled. "The funny thing is, is that the extra rations are meaningless now."

She laughed, "True. I guess it'll just be a matter of pride," and they entered sickbay.

"Ready to see our newest addition?" The Doctor said as they entered.

Kathryn and Chakotay approached the right of the biobed.

"Oh, she's beautiful, B'Elanna," Kathryn said and tilted a flap of the blanket away from her face.

B'Elanna propped her daughter up and said, "Meet Miral _Kathryn_ Paris." Kathryn opened her mouth at the middle name.

"Tom and I would like you to be her godmother."

Kathryn gathered tears in her eyes and said, "I am honored and accept."

"Would you like to hold her?" B'Elanna asked. Kathryn moved closer and opened her arms to receive her. She felt so small. So soft. So fresh with life. So innocent. The future. Hope in a bundle. She was so peaceful and her brown eyes just peered into her soul. Kathryn didn't notice the way Chakotay was watching her; she was only focused on the little bundle for a good few minutes.

"Okay, okay, my turn, captain," Chakotay said.

"Looks like her godfather is a bit needy," Tom said.

Chakotay looked at B'Elanna and smiled. He said, "Finally! If Neelix was here he'd try to a position that is rightfully mine," he boasted.

Kathryn whispered to Miral, "Okay, it's your godfather's turn now. Just remember, I'm your favorite," and she passed her into his arms.

Chakotay smiled and said, "I heard that," as he cradled Miral. Kathryn watched him. He was a natural. That once angry warrior was now baby-talking putty. She remembered the kiss from the other night. They haven't talked about it since bit they haven't really had time to with the admiral popping out of nowhere.

'Tuvok to Captain Janeway.'

She moved to the side and tapped her combadge, "Go ahead."

'Admiral Paris is on the line.'

"Patch him through the doctor's office, " she said and disconnected the transmission as she walked over and sat in the doctor's chair and pressed the desktop console.

"Hello, again. I wanted to share some good news before all of the to-do lists are sent at the end of this message and so on."

Kathryn leaned in with her arms crossed on the desk.

"The Maquis who joined Voyager are hereby granted official amnesty as of this moment."

A wave of relief flooded from Kathryn's head to her toes. No prison.

"They may do as they wish. They can keep their current commissions or do as they please. As for the Equinox crew, they will be discharged from Starfleet. In regards to the housing situtation...that takes a bit more planning. Because we don't know who will be staying in Starfleet, who will leave Starfleet, and who might decide to live in another location, Starfleet has offered you and your crew two weeks before debriefings begin to visit family and friends once medical evaluations have been made...it is December, after all....'

Christmas was in several days. It was December. It just dawned on her.

"Then there will be three months in which crew can decide to accept or reject any offers or promotions. We do have some quarters available now and even some dorms because the Academy is out for break. I will send the housing information to your ship along with the other details on the debriefings and such."

"That's great news. Oh, Owen," she leaned in, "your new granddaughter is beautiful."

Owen beamed and said, "She's already here?!'

"Yes. Born in the Alpha Quadrant! But I'll leave the rest to Tom and B'Elanna. I don't think they want her godmother spoiling all of the surprise."

"I can't wait to see them. I'll send all the details to you."

"Thank you," she said and they ended there transmission.

She sat sitting at the blank screen for a second. Chakotay was a free man. She sighed and then left the office.

Chakotay transferred Miral to Tom and said, "More news?"

Kathryn looked at B'Elanna, Tom, and Chakotay. "Effective immediately, the former Maquis have been granted complete amnesty and can keep their field commissions if they choose."

Their faces went wide with smiles, especially Chakotay's. She noticed that there was also a fire in them.

"That's great!"

"Fantastic!"

"Let's go tell them," Chakotay said.

"I think you should tell them," Kathryn said.

"Nonsense. Let's gather them on the bridge and tell them."

"Okay. We'll comm from the bridge. Then, unfortunately, is the PADD crunch time."

"Then let's get moving," he said.

They said goodbye to the Paris family and made their way to the bridge.

"I can't wait to see the looks on their faces when we tell them," Chakotay said with shining eyes.

"Yes, especially when they get to keep their commissions," Kathryn said.

They entered the turbolift and set their destination. Her eyes opened wide, "I just realized...I never informed the ship that we're here. There maybe crewman sleeping who don't know."

"Who slept through a Borg attack and explosion?" He looked at her in disbelief.

"Oh, yes. Good point. I still haven't made an announcement."

"How about you make the announcement first. Then I tell the former Maquis to come to the bridge?"

"That sounds good."

Kathryn started to think of all the paperwork that awaited.The ship needed repairs. Would they refit Voyager or prep her for scrap? Or to become a museum like in the admiral's timeline?

"Kathryn, it'll be okay," Chakotay gave a light touch on her forearm.

"Hmm?"

"Whatever just flooded your mind right now," he said.

"I was just thinking of the ship's repairs."

"That's probably why Starfleet thought it was good idea to dock at Utopia Planetia, besides quarantine, of course."

She nodded as they exited the turbolift.

"Tuvok, can you please set up a comm to the whole ship?"

"You're on now, captain."

She walked to the middle of the bridge with Chakotay and stood towards the bridge crew.

"This is Captain Kathryn Kathryn Janeway of the USS Voyager. After seven years I am happy to say that we have made it to the Alpha Quadrant...with a mighty armada of an escort. There will be a lot of things we will still need to do and a lot of information that will given from Starfleet that will be sent out. All crewman are to report to duty. Right now we are making our way to dock at McKinley Station. Whether or not we will depart from there or not, I need to look at the new information I have been given. Also, there is something Commander Chakotay needs to say..."

"As the captain said, there is a lot to still do. I am happy that we have made it and that we have worked so well to make it back. All Maquis from the Val Jean, please report to the bridge immediately," and he nodded to Tuvok to cut off the comm.

"And here... we...go!" Chakotay said.

Eventually, the bridge filled the forty or so former Maquis.

Kathryn started first, "Thank you for coming to the bridge. I'm sure you are all wondering what your status will be once we get back to Earth. I'll let Chakotay explain."

Chakotay pretended to be all serious and the Maquis started to become a little concerned. "As you well know, all things considered, as Maquis, we have had multiple charges placed on us before we even boarded this ship."

There was some shuffling.

"Good thing we did come on board because we have all be pardoned..."

There were some gasps.

"...and are allowed to retain your Staefleet ranks if we so wish."

They all clapped, cheered, and hooted.There was hugs and shakes among them and Kathryn watched from near the engineering station.

She walked over to Tuvok and said, "What's the Starfleet communication damage so far?"

"Damage?" he looked a little confused.

"What has Starfleet sent us?"

Tuvok gave her a PADD.

She looked at it and her heart dropped.

"That is just the first list."

"Damn. I've got to start this right away. Send the everything and the rest to the Ready Room."

"Yes, captain."

Kathryn went into the room and had a seat at her desk.

To sum it up, the list consisted of, but not least:

-Current reports from each departments  
-reports on how Voyager returned back to the Alpha Quadrant  
-Debriefings: scheduling and locations  
  
-current cargo storage hold, including the inventory of "new" Delta Quadrant items  
-recommendations for promotions-letters

-Housing

-surveys from the crew: on plans, housing, contact information, personal quarter repairs needed, etc.

-survey plan for a welcome back event  
-for the crew to send a list of names of people they want to contact outside their emergency contacts

-clearing out personal items from the ship  
-inspections to make sure all personal items have been taken or recycled

-medical quarantine  
-medical clearances  
-counselling services  
  
-a brief history up-date on what had happened during the Dominion War and afterwards  
-planned evacuation of the ship  
-Borg crewman  
-status of the EMH  
-official Maquis pardon  
-Equinox crew official discharge information  
-recent deaths since the last communications or bodies still in sickbay  
-identification verification and security updates and checks  
-legal status of personal property after Voyager was declared lost  
-familial legal status

She contacted Seven, "Seven, I'll need you to bring about as many of those PADDs that were used for data streams as you can to my Ready Room. Have Icheb and whomever else to need to help you."

"Understood."

She comm'd each chief about the incoming information that was needed from their departments would be on their way shortly on a PADD. Also, that they were to have each crewman download onto their own PADDs or monitors and fill out the surveys and other individual information. If a crewman was no longer needed in the department for reports, they were to start working on their quarters.

Chakotay came in while she loaded PADDS for the chief of staff.

"What is my assignment?"

She handed the PADDs over to him. "Take these to the chiefs. They are expecting them. It contains the required information from each chief and what each crewman needs to fill out for Starfleet."

"Will do," he said with a smile and a wink before he left with the PADDs.

She looked at her list and at the time.

...

Kathryn first finished her report on how they got to the Alpha Quadrant first, while it was still fresh in her memory. For most of what was left, was based on the information and reports the crew were to give. Chakotay was in charge of the personnel matters when it came to housing and so forth. Kathryn was focused on the reports.

She also wrote crew recommendations with Chakotay's help.

"I'm recommending you for captainship," Kathryn said, with a half-eaten salad Chakotay made her eat to the side.

"Oh," Chakotay replied, sitting in the chair in front of her.

"Oh...I didn't think..." she felt embarrassed. Maybe he didn't want to be in Starfleet anymore. Or be captain. After all, he had mentioned interest in teaching.

"Unless you were thinking of something else like teaching or...I can recommend you for whatever you want."

"Its not something else. It's who else. I mean, you're still planning on still being in Starfleet."

"Yes."

"They haven't said if they're promoting you to admiral?"

"A little bird told me that they'll wait to see after debriefings. Starfleet told me they are in need of all the officers they can get due to the Dominion War and the Breen attack on HQ. My sources say the admiralty is practically already set."

"Is that what you want? Do you want to be admiral? Or do you want to stay captain?"

"I... haven't had time to give it much thought. Plus, I'm asking you, Chakotay."

"It depends on what you do."

Kathryn sighed. "You have your own life, Chakotay. You can do whatever you want to do."

"I know that."

She set down the PADD on the desk. Then she squinted and leaned back in her desk.

  
"What do you want, Kathryn?"

Kathryn gulped.

'I...I don't mind captaining but I do need a break, obviously. Admiralty sounds so foreign. I might like it but they are brass who aren't exactly exploring or making discoveries. But they have the power to change things and make things happen. If they do offer, I think I'll use those three months they are giving us to think it over."

"How about this...you write the letter but we wait on sending it. They're not requiring recommendations right away for me, either. They just want to see what the crew's general ideas are and are trying to figure how to sort everyone."

"Okay," she said.

"Okay, then," he took her hand and rubbed his thumb against the back of it. "I still have things on my list to do. I'll see you later," Chakotay said with love in his eyes.

"See you later," Kathryn said as her eyes followed him out the door.

  
...

After an hour that evening, Kathryn went to her quarters. Her brain had been "on" all day, non-stop.

She started looking over the personal items she had. Each quarters was given a crate to put items that were not going into a duffel bag. Oversize items were to left but put in the, "oversize personal items list" for transport.

Kathryn started to pack the items away. Everything reminded her of a memory of the Delta Quadrant. Tomorrow this room will be clear, almost as if nobody lived here, minus the grandfather clock.

The whole ship will be like that. Empty. They'll be in familiar but unfamiliar territory. Everything was unknown now. The mission was complete. Everyone was going their separate ways.

She put more things in her container and found an old photo of her with Mark that she tucked away over the years. Mark. He brought her things to her mother's since he got married. But she needed to return the ring...or keep the ring if he still had it with him. Molly...she's not even her dog anymore. She had no place of her own. She was supposed to move in with Mark into a new house together when she returned... He had his own family. The only things that were hers was the ship, her crew, and her family in Indiana.

The reality hit her and she started to sob and sob as she sat in the armchair.

She didn't have much else other than Voyager. Voyager had been her life.

Kathryn didn't hear the chime or the footsteps that came later.

She felt arms pull her up and wrap around her in a hug. Her arms were tucked against his chest and her head rested against his chest. As she started to sob even more, the back of her head was cradled by his hand.

"It's all right, Kathryn," he soothed and kissed the top of her head.

It felt like everything that she had pent up came flooding out. As she stopped sobbing and shifted to the intermittent hiccuping/sniffle stage, his hand stated to stroke her back. She didn't even know how much time had passed. She didn't see him but knew it was him. He smelled of sandalwood and sage or pine. His arms were steady, firm, yet comfortable. She felt them close to her on New Earth. She felt him when they kissed and embraced each other just the other day when he gave her the holodeck program. She stopped hiccuping and sniffing. It felt nice to be held. She almost forgot what is was like until recently.

The admiral had said Chakotay died in her arms in the Delta Quadrant. Now he was safe. She would have started to cry again but there was none left. So she just let him hold her.

"Feels good?" Chakotay said.

She nodded her head in his chest.

"The cry or the hug?'

She nodded.

He chuckled. God, even his chuckle sounded like chocolate against his chest.

"I'll do this for as long as you want."

She nodded.

"To be honest, it does feel great," Chakotay said.

"It does," she finally said but to his chest.

"We should hug more when you're not crying. "

She giggled.

"You smell good."

"Thanks, I try," Chakotay said, "It's Maquis musk."

She outright laughed.

"Feeling better?"

She broke away to wipe her face and said, "Yes, thank you. "

"Why were you upset?" He said as his thumb stroked her cheek.

"I realized that Voyager-everything about it- has been my life. Besides Voyager and my other Starfleet connections, all I have left is my mother and my sister. I don't know if Voyager will be decommissioned. The crew will scatter into the wind. I don't have a mission to fill."

"I know how you feel. I feel like both of my adoptive families are spreading their wings. I just have my sister and cousins. However, unlike you, I didn't expect to outlive the Maquis and come back. I left everything with my sister."

She realized something. It would be weeks before his sister Sekaya could reach Earth. Then debriefings would start.

"Where will you stay before the debriefings?" She asked.

"San Francisco, I guess. Maybe see if my cousins in Arizona. I'll visit Sekaya after the debriefings. "

"Why don't you come stay with us in Indiana?"

"You sure?"

"Yes. We have guest rooms."

"I'll take you up on that offer."

She smiled. "Then you can see what I'm saying about my mom's caramel brownies. Mmmm. So good."

"Well, I'll go update my information for Starfleet, then. We need to get some more sleep, too."

"True. Goodnight, Chakotay."

"Goodnight, Kathryn."

  
...

Everything was all set the crew were ready to leave. All reports were in. All quarters checked.

"That's it," she said to Chakotay.

"You ready?"

She nodded, albeit a little anxiously. She twisted in her chair and asked Tuvok to open an all-ship comm for her and the commander.

"Comm open, captain."

"This is Captain Kathryn Janeway. It's been a journey seven years in the making, but we are finally home. I want you to know that serving as your captain on Voyager has been a great honor and privilege. We've been through insurmountable odds. But as one ship, one crew, we worked together, we made it work. Even though we may see each other before our debriefings, next assignments, and such, please keep in touch. I want to know how all you are doing, how your families are doing, and any new announcements. I want to be invited to **everything**. You've already heard me tell you all that I've never been good at goodbyes, so I'll let Commander Chakotay say his piece."

Kathryn looked at him and smiled with tears forming in her eyes.

"This is Commander Chakotay. I want to say that I am proud, so very proud, of each and every member of this ship, former Maquis and Starfleet alike. Of course, seven years ago I would've never guessed what would've happened, but I'm extremely grateful that it did. If it hadn't I would either be dead, or, if lucky, prison with some of you. I would've been still filled with anger. Now, I have a new life, new friends, and new colleagues...and I wouldn't change it for the world."

There was hardly a dry eye on the bridge with that sentence.

"Oh, and invite me and update me on everything, too. The captain can't have all of the fun," he smiled at Kathryn.

Everyone burst out laughing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I appreciate comments!
> 
> Written 6/20-6/21/2020.


	3. Earth to Captain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally, the command crew can set foot on Earth.

"I relieve you, sir," said Admiral Peterson.

"I stand relieved," Captain Janeway said.

The ship was empty except for the shipyard crew who came aboard with Admirals Paris, Admiral Peterson, and Lieutenant Barclay.

"Your father would have been so proud," Admiral Owen Paris said.

"He would have,Katie" said Peterson.

"Thank you," she said, "and thank you, Lieutenant Barclay. Without you, the Pathfinder Project would not have been successful. No one would've known that we were still alive and we would have never have been able to contact our loved ones."

"W-well, I'm-m just glad it w-worked," he stuttered.

"I didn't know he had it in him! He wouldn't take no as an answer," Owen said. "Let's get going. They're waiting for us and I've got hold more of my granddaughter before Julia and my daughters hog her!"

Kathryn and Chakotay smiled, nodded, and grabbed their bags and stepped on the transporter with Owen and Reg behind them. She nodded toward the ensign.

"Energize," Kathryn said.

The station's ensign activate the transporter beam as Admiral Peterson watched.

They beamed into a large Starfleet building with lots of people greeting each other.

Kathryn surveyed to find them but they found her first.

"Katie!" She heard before a body fling onto her in a hug. She was almost knocked off balance.

"Phoebe!"

"What about me? You know, the woman who gave both of you life?" Said a voice behind Phoebe.

"Mom?" Kathryn said with a smile.

Phoebe backed off and Gretchen Janeway came forward and embraced Kathryn.

"Oh, mom," Kathryn buried her face into her shoulder.

"I've missed you _**so**_ much. My little girl is home."

Kathryn started to cry of happiness and said, "I've missed you, too, mom. I'm so happy to back home."

After a long hug, Gretchen released her. Nodding toward Kathryn's left shesaid, "Now, are you going to introduce this handsome young man or are you going to leave him awkwardly standing?"

"Oh!" She wiped the tears off her face and said, "Mom, this Commander Chakotay, my first officer. Chakotay, this is my mother, Gretchen Janeway."

"Nice to meet you Mrs. Janeway," he held out his hand and she took it.

"Nice to meet you, Chakotay," she said but brought him into a hug, too. "Thank you for bringing her home."

He looked at Kathryn, who was smiling a toothy smile at the two of them.

"Uh, Mrs. Janeway, I believe it was the other way around."

Gretchen let go with her hands still on his arms. "Mrs. Janeway was my mother-in-law. You may call me Gretchen."

"Okay, then, Gretchen," he strained.

"Mom, is it all right if Chakotay stays with us the next few weeks? He doesn't really have much family to stay with on Earth and his sister is on Dorvan V. He's visiting her after the debriefings."

"Absolutely, we'll have the guest room made up for you," she said with her hands still on Chakotay's arms. "Those arms! You certainly work out. What do you do?"

"Mom!" Phoebe and Kathryn said.

"Um, boxing, ma'am," he replied with a blush.

"Well, it does wonders on your arms, dear."

Phoebe said, "Mom, you can let go of Chakotay now. You're embarrassing him!"

Gretchen let go and Phoebe said, "Hi, Chakotay. I'm Phoebe, Katie's, uh, Kathryn's sister," she held out a hand.

"Nice to meet you, Phoebe," he said and shook it.

Phoebe let go and said, "So you're the guy Katie was supposed to capture in the first place? In the Maquis?" She said inquisitively.

He smiled his dimpled smile and said, "Yes, I am."

"I can see why," she said.

"Phoebe! And you said I was embarrassing the poor man!" Gretchen said.

He looked at Kathryn, who face was smiling and red from embarrassment as well. She saw the smirk as well. He knew she was secretly loving it.

"Hi, Kath."

Kathryn's face fell a bit as she turned towards the voice from behind her. Only one person called her Kath and that was...

"Mark?" She said as she turned around.

Chakotay's face went slack as he watched Kathryn. He felt his body become more rigid. They all angled to look at Mark as Chakotay still stood next to her.

Mark approached and had his arms opened for a hug and Kathryn accepted it. She did not make it too quick but she also didn't want a long one, either. They let go of each other.

Kathryn hadn't replied much in her response to his last, "Dear John," letter. She remembered she said she was glad that he was happy and that she expected that he had moved on. Also, that she didn't hold it against him. After all, they were family and childhood friends and they could remain friends.

But in a way, she did resent it. It still did hurt. Even though Chakotay could now be hers.

"Nice to see you back and in one piece," he said.

' _ **That's**_ what he says after not seeing his former fiancee after seven years?' Chakotay thought.

"Thanks. I couldn't have done it without Chakotay's help."

"Chakotay?" Mark said. Chakotay couldn't help but hear a sharp undertone in his voice.

"Sorry. Mark Johnson, this," she looked at Chakotay, "is Commander Chakotay. Chakotay, this is Mark."

Chakotay made sure to stick his hand out first with as neutral of a face he could present and said, "Nice to meet you, Mark."

Mark stared and said, "Likewise, Chakotay. I'm sorry, is Chakotay your first name or last name?"

"I don't have a last name. Chakotay is my full name."

"Okay," Mark shrugged. He waved over to some people and a woman and a young boy of about three or four walked over in front of Kathryn and Chakotay.

"Let me introduce you to my wife, Carla," Mark said.

The brunette of forty-something said hello.

"...and my son, Kevin." The light-brown haired boy just stared at Chakotay's tattoo. Chakotay smiled at the curious kid. Better than looking at Mark right now.

"This is Kathryn Janeway," he said.

Kathryn said, "Hello, Carla, it's nice to meet you," she genuinely said and actually gave the nervous woman a hug to show she held no ill-will towards her.

"It's a delight to meet you, too, captain."

She let go and said, "You can call me Kathryn."

Kathryn looked down at Kevin and said, "Hi, Kevin. I'm Kathryn. I'm a good friend of your daddy's. What's your favorite color?"

He took his attention off of Chakotay and looked at her. In a very soft and quiet voice he mumbled, "Blue."

"Mine, too. Looks like we have something in common."

Kathryn looked up at Mark and Carla and said, "He's adorable."

"Thank you," the couple said.

"We would love it if you could join us for dinner in Colorado sometime. I know there is some catching up to do as well," Carla said.

"Yes, that would be nice," Kathryn said.

"Well, I know you've got a lot going on right now. We just wanted to say hello," Mark said.

"Why don't the three of you have dinner with us tomorrow?" Gretchen asked.

Mark said, "Uh, only if that is okay with you, Kath."

Chakotay slightly clenched his jaw.

He wished she wouldn't but knew she would. He knew he was a longtime friend and it would probably be seen as rude if she didn't. He saw that Kathryn was struggling with it. Before Kathryn could respond, Gretchen broke on and said, "Of course it's fine. You're an old friend of the family. Isn't that right, Katie?"

Kathryn nodded.

"It's settled then. Six o' clock," Gretchen said.

"We'll see you then. Bye," Mark said and his family waved before walking away.

"Mom, you should've let Katie make the decision," Phoebe chided.

"She could've spoken up," Gretchen said.

"You didn't let her have a chance to!" She said.

All this time Chakotay was watching Kathryn's reaction. She was silent and a bit melancholy in her far-away gaze.

He leaned sideways and gave her elbow a gentle and comforting squeeze. Kathryn looked up at him and gave a soft smile in understanding.

"Mom, dad, this is Captain Janeway and Commander Chakotay," the voice broke through the entire scene.

Harry Kim was there with his mother and father.

Kathryn and Chakotay both greeted them in return.

Kathryn said, "You should be very proud of your son, Mr. And Mrs. Kim."

His mother spoke, "We are. Soon he'll be captain, too!"

"I'm sure he will be captain someday," she said.

..

They greeted a few other families but they knew some would be at the welcome ball that was rumored to be after the debriefings were over. There were some official photos taken for the press but official speeches were to be held until after everyone had a chance to contact their loved ones.

"Are you ready to go, you two?" Gretchen said.

"Mom, we could've met you at the house. You didn't have to wait for us."

"Look, young lady. I've waited for seven years. I'm not letting you out of my sight just yet. Plus, you might've been stuck here all day!" She lectured.

"Yes, we're ready," Kathryn said with exasperation.

Chakotay inwardly laughed at the two. Kathryn wasn't exaggerating about her mother in the past.

"Not like that. It's December, dear. Did either of you bring a coat?"

They looked at the civilians around them wearing scarves and jackets.

"Yes, mom. We both do for the snow. I made sure to check the weather."

"That's my girl! Put them on and then we'll walk to the transporter"

They both pulled out a thick, black coats. She took out a red scarf and beanie and put them on. Chakotay had gray ones that he put in his coat pockets. He was glad Kathryn told him about the weather. Chakotay picked up his luggage and her as they walked to the nearby transporter.

"Ooooh, and he's a gentleman. He can lift me up anytime," Gretchen said.

"Mom!" Kathryn scolded this time.

"What?" Gretchen said to her girls before stating, "Bloomington, Indiana."

They walked in a were beamed into Bloomington. When they walked away from the tranporter Phoebe said, "We have a hovercar parked over there," she pointed.

Even though Chakotay's coat was suitable, he wasn't ready for the drastic change in weather from San Francisco to Bloomington.The snowy slush crunched under his feet. He might need to get some warmer clothes than he brought with him. It was a short walk to the cover car, so he didn't need to use the beanie or gloves yet.

They walked over the hover car and Gretchen said, "Phoebe, you drive. Chakotay, you take the front. I want to sit next to Katie."

'She really is a handful,' Chakotay thought.

He loaded the bags and they strapped in before they were off in the heated hovercar. As they moved from the city and drove towards her family home, Gretchen talked all the way about changes to the area since Kathryn's been gone. Chakotay just listened and watched the scenery go by. While Gretchen talked up up Kathryn, Phoebe talked to him a bit.

"So Katie said you have a sister on Dorvan V. Is she older or younger?"

"She's younger. Her name is Sekaya."

"Is she your only living relative?"

"Besides a couple of cousins in Arizona and Ohio, she is basically it."

"I'm sorry."

"Thanks. It's fine. It happened a long ago."

"I'm sure she misses you just as much or more as Katie and I missed each other."

"Of course."

"You didn't say anything about a girlfriend...or a boyfriend. Are you single?"

Chakotay's ears burned and he said, "I am."

'Of course...I have kissed your sister and have my eye on her,' he thought.

"Ah. Well, you're the first guy that she's brought over besides her high school and the Academy. So, just dropping that warning when it comes to my mom's antics."

Chakotay smiled and said, "Thanks."

"Can I ask you what the tattoo represents? I'm sure you get asked that a lot."

"I don't mind. It's my tribe's symbol to represent our connection with the Sky Spirits."

"That's cool. Well, we're here," she said as turned into a long driveway. As the house came into view, he had to do everything in his power to hold in his shock.

It looked very similar to the holodeck program he created for Kathryn but yet so different.

There was a swing...but it was a swing set. There was a covered porch but it didn't wrap around the house. It was white with a dark green trim with a barn and a shed in the distance. It was surrounded by fields and the next house was at least a ten or fifteen minute walk. There was Christmas decor and bright snow on the ground. It was the Janeway house.

They got out of the car and he grabbed the bags.

"It looks the same," Kathryn said.

"It has a coat of new paint, Katie!"

"Yes, it does, mom. "

Chakotay couldn't get enough of the mother-daughter banter. He had never seen Kathryn like this before. They walked up the stone steps onto the wooden porch, where an outdoor couch sat comfortably over the years. As Kathryn stepped inside, she felt all the familiar smells of home. When they walked in, the house was a mix of modern technology with the continuation of a farmhouse look. Christmas decorations were also inside with a decorated tree inside. They took off their outerwear and hung in on the hooks at the entrance.

"Phee, can you get the guest room ready for Chakotay?" Gretchen told her youngest.

"Okay, but don't talk about anything important! I don't want to miss anything," she said.

"All right, I'll try," Gretchen said.

Phoebe went up the wooden stairs to get it ready.

"You can set the bags down by the door, Chakotay. Would you like something to drink?"

"A tea would be appreciated, if you have some."

"Come over to the kitchen and you can pick from what he have. Katie, maybe you can put some of those caramel brownies on some plates while I get the coffee."

Kathryn's eyes opened very wide at the sound of her two favorite things. They walked to the kitchen. There were two trays of caramel brownies and a tray of gingerbread cookies out. Gretchen showed Chakotay the tea selection. He chose a cinnamon tea and she got it ready with the coffee. Kathryn had already eaten a brownie by the time the drinks were ready.

"Well, some things certainly never change," Gretchen said as she looked at her daughter mischievously grin. They brought out the cookies and drinks out to the living room coffee table and sat down one of the two facing couches.

Chakotay took a bite out of one of the caramel brownies. Both the women watched and waited for his reaction. "These are amazing, Mrs., I mean Gretchen," he said.

"I told you," Kathryn said.

"She told you about my brownies?" Gretchen said to Chakotay.

He nodded with brownies in his mouth.

"Well, make sure to save room for dinner in a few hours."

"Oh, mom, I forgot to mention. Chakotay's a vegetarian."

"Ah, okay, but he still needs to save room for dinner," Gretchen said with a beat.

"Yes, ma'am," he said as he drank some of his tea.

Phoebe came down the stairs and said, "You room is ready, Chakotay. It's the first guest room...ooh brownies and coffee!" She said as she sat on the other couch with her portion.

Once they finished their sweets Gretchen said, "Why don't you two freshen up and put your things away? Katie can give you a tour of the house, too."

"Okay, mom, that sounds like a good idea." Kathryn went over and picked her bag and Chakotay did the same before he followed her up the stairs.

"That's the office and that's the guest room you'll be in. There is a full restroom attached. We can get our stuff settled in our rooms and I'll show the rest of the house. Half an hour?"

"Sounds good. See you in a bit," Chakotay said and smiled.

He went in as she continued to he room. Chakotay started to put his things away and decided to take a shower and change out of his uniform and into more appropriate winter clothes.

Kathryn opened the door to her room. It was clean and how she last mostly left it when she last visited. It still had that twenties-ish feel with some hints of high school memories mixed in with the academic Starfleet feel. Even after she was declared lost her mom kept it the same. Her eyes welled and she covered her mouth as she sat on her bed. There were so many memories. She saw the tennis trophies. She saw the desk where held all-nighters. She saw a pictures of her at different ages. She saw the last family photo which included her father.

Kathryn looked through her closet and her drawers at the back-up clothes she had for when she visited from San Francisco. They were still there but so were clothes from her own apartment which had been sent over by Mark. Apparently, Gretchen hung and folded the clothes for her. She took some choices out and out them on the bed.

Kathryn remembered how the counselor said that there maybe overwhelming feelings when returning to familiar places, especially childhood stomping grounds. Counselor Troi suggested meditation, lying down or sitting straight up.

She sat down on the bed and focused on her breathing to calm herself down.

Phoebe knocked on the open door and came in. She sat on the bed next to her. "Mom told me to tell you that your apartment stuff is in the second guest bedroom if you were looking for anything on particular. You can go through it whenever you're ready."

"Thanks, Phee."

Phoebe gave her a hug and said, "I'm so happy you're back."

"Me, too. I missed you. "

"I missed you, too, Katie."

Phoebe released her and looked at her bed and said, "I like the blue sweater. We need to go the big city and go shopping tomorrow, Katie. You're almost out of style! Oh, and we need to get our nails done, sis."

Kathryn laughed and said, "Okay."

Phoebe gave her a kiss on the cheek and left her room. Kathryn chose the rest of her clothes and with her toiletry bag, towel, and robe, she headed to the separate restroom. Instead of a bath, she opted for a real shower. A bath could wait for tonight when it got much colder.

She showered and soaked in the hot water and shower gel. She put on the jeans, forest green long-sleeve shirt, and the thick blue v-neck cable sweater. Normally, she would go back to her room in her robe. But since Chakotay was staying there, she thought it best to change in the restroom and leave the robe there. Kathryn reapplied her makeup and perfume. She took a look in the mirror and sighed. She looked tired.

...

Chakotay took a shower and the hot water felt good. He felt truly clean for once. He pulled on a white undershirt, long sleeve black shirt, a dark red sweater, and jeans.

As he pulled on his regular Starfleet boots he thought, "I need to get some regular boots and shoes. I didn't think about that. Knew I'd forget something.'

He took out the rest of the clothes and put them in the empty drawers. At the bottom of his bag was a red, leather-bound book. Chakotay took it out and said, "Dante's Inferno." Chakotay hadn't given it back to Kathryn and she never asked for it back. Maybe after tomorrow, after the dinner with Mark and his family were over, he'll ask. He kept it in the bag, closed it, and put the bag aside the bed.

Chakotay laid down on the bed, thinking of everything that's happened in such a short amount of time. He and Kathryn hadn't talked about the kiss on the holodeck. The admiral had arrived the next day and there was so much to do. He also didn't want a relationship to add on to the recent stress. Kathryn also needed to sort things out with Mark.

Kathryn also needed some down time. He saw the real Kathryn crack out a bit more over brownies. That's the Kathryn he wants. The one who licked the chocolate and caramel crumbs from the corners of her mouth. He had been giving her touches, ones he knew she wouldn't have allowed before the kiss, to let her know he was still thinking of her. He imagined kissing and licking those crumbs off her mouth and how he wanted to kiss her again soon.

...

After a restful lay-down, Chakotay heard a knock on the door. He stood up and opened the door.

"Ready for the rest of tour?" She said. Kathryn looked much more relaxed in the clothes she was wearing. The jeans really did suit her legs.

"Yes," he said and closed the door behind him.

"Here's the second guest bedroom," she said and opened the door.

"Lots of boxes,' he said.

"Yeah...that's my stuff from my apartment I need to go through," she sighed as she closed the door and they walked down the hallway.

"This is Phoebe's room. That's our shared bathroom. This is my room and at the end of the hall is the linen closet and my mom's room."

She stepped inside her room and he followed.

The room seemed so her. The accomplishments. Swimming. Tennis. The organization of the room. But there was the love in the photographs. There was one of her being pushed on a swing by her father when she was about eight by the looks of it.

"You'll have to add the Ancestor's Day Janeway photo to your collection," Chakotay said.

"Yes. It's in the storage crate that Starfleet is going to send."

Chakotay realized he didn't see any pictures of Mark, but maybe those were in her apartment boxes...

"So what do you think?" She asked.

"It's a bit more girly than I expected," he nodded to large flower mural accent wall.

"Oh, yeah. Phoebe did that during her floral stage," Kathryn said.

"It's really good."

"Thanks! It's one of my favorites," Phoebe said at the door and they both jumped. Her face went into apologetic mode and she said, "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you. Chakotay, mom asked if veggie lasagna was fine. She forgot to ask earlier and realized you may not like it."

"Yes, it's fine," he said. With that, Phoebe took off and down the stairs.

Chakotay smiled and stood a little closer and said, "What is it about little sisters?"

Kathryn smiled a toothy grin, looked at him, and said, "I have no idea."

Kathryn realized how close he was standing next to her now. She could feel the sudden thickness in the air as his pinky finger stroked hers. She felt a tingling sensation running up her arm and felt her heart start to race. He leaned over a gave her a peck on the cheek and said, "Let's continue the tour outside."

She nodded when she couldn't say anything. Her face turned a light pink.

Chakotay smiled and they walked down the hall and down the stairs. As they put their coats, hats, gloves, and scarves Kathryn yelled, "I'm going to show Chakotay around outside!"

"Okay! Bring some firewood when you come back in!" Yelled Gretchen.

Once they went through the door they were reminded how cold it was outside, especially now that it was the late afternoon and sunset was nearing. The snow crunched under their feet as they walked towards the barn.

"I'll definitely need to get boots and shoes other than these," Chakotay said.

"Yes, you do. My sister wants me to go shopping and have girl time with me in downtown Bloomington. We can all go together and you can do what you need to and we can meet up."

"Sounds good. Well, over there is a wheat field that our neighbors harvest. Over there is my favorite tree but I'll show you my favorite tree later. It is cold!"

Kathryn opened the barn door and said, "This is the barn. It acts more like a garage, though. My father used to use it for tinkering with shuttles. Oh! We still have chickens!" She said as a random afterthought.

She walked towards the back of the barn where there where five chickens.

"Mom likes fresh eggs. These are the only farm animals we have. We have, funnily enough," she said.

Chakotay chuckled and said, "I am surprised you even chickens in the Janeway family!"

She gave a little playful shove and laugh.

"Well, at least you have your basic gardening skills," he said.

"Yes," she said softly.

"I think of it all the time," he said, referring to New Earth.

"Me, too."

She shivered and he brought her into his arms to get both of them warm.

"You're getting good at this," she said.

"Yeah?" He hotly whispered in her ear.

"Yeah," Kathryn replied.

He couldn't help it.

His face almost brushed her cheek while he moved his mouth towards her lips and pressed a kiss.

She opened her mouth a bit and they slowly pulled on each other's lip before they stopped. With their heads still pressed together he said, "I know there's a lot hectic stuff going on and that there's some closure you need to get through," he said and entwined his fingers in hers. "But I want us."

"Me, too," she said. They looked into each other's eyes and smiled. He pressed a kiss to her forehead and hugged her tightly.

"We should probably get that firewood before your mom and sister come searching for us," Chakotay said.

"Yeah. Plus, it's warm inside!" Kahryn laughed. They gathered the firewood that was in the barn and walked back to the house.

Gretchen said, "Chakotay and Kathryn, since you're probably already cold, get the fire started. Do you want hot chocolate? I'm making some."

"Yes," they both said.

They set down the firewood next to the fireplace and Chakotay started to stack some logs in the fireplace.

"At least this time I don't need your hair," he mumbled.

Kathryn laughed and said, "At least you don't have to rely on your stick skills," she said as he handed him a lighter.

"Yeah," he chuckled, "but it worked!"

Chakotay lighted a fire on the logs and they started to take off their gloves and beanies to put near it to dry. They hung their coats and left their boots at the door.

Gretchen same out of the kitchen and handed them their hot chocolates with marshmallows in it.

"Thanks, mom."

"Thank you, Gretchen."

Chakotay looked at the Christmas tree an the ornaments on it. Some were bought and some were handmade. He looked at the handmade ones Kathryn made with the years that were placed on them as he sipped the hot chocolate.

"Do you celebrate Christmas or the yuletide, Chakotay?" Gretchen asked.

"Uh, no. I mean, at the Academy I learned about the holiday from roommates. Our tribe has a solstice celebration but it's nothing big. We sort of had a celebration like it called Prixin on Voyager."

"So, this will be your first Christmas!" Gretchen exclaimed with joy.

Chakotay tugged on his ear and said, "Yeah."

Phoebe came out of the kitchen as Gretchen said, "Oh, and it's only three days away!"

Kathryn face was still.

"What's up, Katie, honey?" Gretchen said.

"I...excuse me," she said and quickly went upstairs.

The three of them looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Chakotay, did I say something?"

"No, not that I know of," he said with concern, "I'll go check on her."

Chakotay climbed up the stairs and was going to her room when he heard noises coming from the second guest room.

He knocked and said, "Kathryn? Are you all right?" He tried for the handle and it was unlocked. He went inside and saw her going through items from the boxes.

"Kathryn," he said.

She wouldn't look at him as she fervently took out items.

He placed his hands on hers and said, "Kathryn, stop. What's wrong?"

"All of those poor families who are about to celebrate Christmas and officially mourn at the same time...and the Voyager crew who are alone...it's awful, Chakotay. And Neelix would've loved Christmas. His Prixin was a mix of Thanksgiving and Christmas combined. He probably doesn't even know that we made it back! Tears came out of her eyes and she pathetically added, "Plus, I don't have any gifts to give for Christmas! That's my favorite part. Anything I could give is in those Starfleet crates!"

Chakotay out an arm around her and said, "Yes, it will be hard. But at least they'll know it wasn't in vain. I made sure that nobody was staying alone, even Crewman Harren. The counselors recommended it, too. I know Seven contacted Neelix last. Maybe she told him before we attempted the hub. We can ask her. As for gifts, Kathryn, our gift is that he are here, alive, and our able to bring love to those around us. But if it really matters to you, we'll be shopping tomorrow, anyways."

"Hopefully, there still are decent things left," she pouted.

He smiled. "Do you want some help with this stuff?"

"No, maybe later. I do want to see what I have in these. Especially... if some things are actually Mark's. "

He nodded. "Okay. I'll be downstairs. "

"Okay, thanks."

He left the room and closed the door behind him. He went downstairs and Phoebe was sitting on the couch and Gretchen was back in the kitchen.

Phoebe said, "Is she alright?"

"She will be. She was mourning and missing our crew and that she didn't have any presents."

Phoebe laughed at the last part. "Yes, she loves to see the look on people's faces when they open her presents. I was planning on going shopping with her tomorrow, anyways."

"Kathryn mentioned that. I need to get some things as well. Can I tag along? Then when we're there you can do all your sister stuff and we can regroup later."

"Sure," she said.

Chakotay sat down and drank some more of the hot chocolate.

  
...

Dinner was delicious. Memories were shared about how Kathryn almost set a Christmas tree on fire when she tried to reconfigure the lights. How Phoebe and Kathryn had a game where they would guess what was in the presents and whoever got the most right would get the last gingerbread cookie. How Gretchen had to be very sneaky hiding presents because the girls were so inquisitive in their youth.

"Chakotay, what were you and Katie talking about when you were building the fire? Sounded like a funny story."

Chakotay cleared his throught and said, "In our first couple of years in the Delta Quadrant, we were marooned on a desert-like planet by a species known as the Kazon. We needed to make a fire one night. I tried using what I could remember of our tribe's method to build a fire. You, see, I was sort of a rebel against my culture's anti-technological practices for most of my life. I tried rubbing two sticks together but it wouldn't catch fire. Then I looked at Kathryn's hair...and realized I needed kindling."

"Oh, no!" Phoebe said.

Chakotay said, " _Oh_ , yes. So we had cut some pieces of hair from some female crewmembers with rocks."

"You cut her hair?!" Phoebe cried.

"No, that was Ensign Kim, wasn't it?" He asked Kathryn in confirmation.

Kathryn nodded.

"Yeah. I was only the fire man."

They women laughed.

"Is that why you cut the rest of you hair, girl?" Gretchen asked.

"Yes...and it was just easier to deal with on the ship."

Chakotay felt a little guilty about that.

"I hope you grow it out again, Katie. It's so pretty when it's long," Gretchen said.

Phoebe nodded andChakotay smiled.

"See, even he agrees!" Phoebe said.

  
...

"I'm **so** full," Chakotay said as he sat and stretched back against the couch.

"Me, too," Kathryn said beside her sister. Her mother said she had too much wine and went to bed early. The fire crackled and the Christmas lights produced a cozy atmosphere.

"I'm sure! I've never seen you eat so much," he said.

"Nothing like mom's cooking," Phoebe said. "So, I was thinking we leave at ten tomorrow? Our appointment is at 11:30. Mom's coming, too. Said she didn't want to miss out on gossip. "

Kathryn laughed, "Still not a morning person, huh, Pheebs?"

"Never!" She said.

Chakotay and Kathryn laughed and they agreed to ten. Of course, to them that was very much sleeping in.

Phoebe yawned and said, "I'm going to bed. I was too excited to see Katie the night before that I couldn't sleep much!" She hugged her sister and said, "Goodnight, Katie. See you in the morning."

"Goodnight, Phoebe. "

She stood and said, "Goodnight, Chakotay. Make sure she doesn't hide the rest of the brownies. She does that."

Chakotay chuckled. "Okay, I will. Goodnight, Phoebe."

She went up the stairs and was gone.

Now it was the two of them on opposite couches.

"I like them. They're fun," he said.

"I'm glad," she said.

...

When Phoebe came downstairs after her shower to get a glass of water before bed, she noticed that both were completely asleep on their couches. She slipped a throw over each of them, got her water, and went back upstairs with a smile.  
...

An hour later, Chakotay woke up when he felt a chill. He noticed there was a blanket on him and looked at the other couch. Kathryn was asleep but shivering a little under her blanket. He got up, picked her up, and walked upstairs with her. He placed her on her bed and covered her with the comforter and extra blanket before going to his room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written 6/20-6/21/2020.


	4. Mark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They go out on the town before the anticipated dinner with Mark and his family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took a bit longer due to research on some things. Hope you enjoy!

Chakotay slept soundly and even slept until eight that morning. He got up, did his morning routine, and put on his layers of clothing. Then, he walked down the stairs and smelled coffee. As he walked closer to the kitchen he noticed Gretchen drinking her coffee and watching _FedNews_.

"Good morning, Gretchen," he said.

"Good morning, Chakotay. It looks like we are the only ones up right now. Help yourself to some pancakes or waffles there," she pointed. Coffee's ready, too."

"Sounds good. Where is your milk and sugar?"

"You don't drink your coffee black, then."

"No, ma'am."

Gretchen made a fake sigh and said, "Well, you were _almost_ perfect."

Chakotay laughed and she told him where to find the items. He loaded a plate with two pancakes and joined her at the table.

"The news is exploding about Voyager's return. You may run into people asking for autographs while we're out today."

Chakotay frowned and said, "I'm not sure if everyone would feel that way. After all, Voyager got stuck out there trying to capture me, a-then Maquis, and my ship."

He started to wonder about Kathryn and her being hounded while out having fun today. What would the news spin if they also saw that he was in Bloomington? His tattoo would certainly draw attention. Surely, their faces would be well-known based on the snippets he saw.

"I should stay here," Chakotay said.

"Nonsense," Gretchen said.

"I can order my shoe sizes and have them sent under a different name."

"You're coming out with us, young man. We will take care of Katie while we're out. We know the owners of most of the stores by first name. They will be discreet if we ask them to."

He let out a dissatisfied sigh.

"Chakotay. You're not her first officer on Voyager right now. You don't need to worry about everything about her."

"I can't help it," he said.

Gretchen smiled and thought about his protectiveness towards her eldest daughter.

...

Kathryn came downstairs half an hour later.

"Well, hello, Kathryn. Sleep well?" Gretchen said.

Kathryn said, "Not really."

She wasn't going to say she had a nightmare about Mark. Or that she had a nightmare that they didn't make it back and reality was the illusion. That she was on-and-off asleep because of the nightmares. Her bed was soft and comfortable, though. The first time she woke up she realized that someone must have put her to bed since she was still in her regular clothes. Kathryn knew she must have fell asleep downstairs and Chakotay must've brought her to bed. She changed into warm pajamas and fought sleep the rest of the night.

She headed straight for the coffee, poured a cup, and drank. She breathed out a sigh as she started to drink more.

Kathryn was wearing red and white plaid flannel pajamas with fluffy black slippers.

'She must have got up last night and changed out of her clothes,' Chakotay thought.

She sat down at the table nex to him. Chakotay noticed that there was spacing between the top button and second buttons in which light had shown through her flannel pajama top. It gave him a peak of her bosom and he had to avoid eyeing that area while her mother was there.

"Eat something with that coffee," Gretchen said.

Kathryn got up and got a waffle. Chakotay noticed she could barely finish her waffle because she was so tired.

"You should lay down on the couch and maybe nap. You're head's drooping," Gretchen said.

On command, a zombie-like Kathryn went over to the couch, threw a throw over her, and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

"Wow," Chakotay whispered.

"Yes," Gretchen agreed.

Chakotay whispered, "One. She didn't even argue with you. Two, she fell asleep very fast."

Gretchen nodded. "Good thing we're not leaving until ten but we might have to leave later. There's time before our appointment. Phoebe just likes to take her time in selecting nail polish colors and flirt."

She rolled her eyes just like Kathryn did on occassion. Chakotay had to keep his laugh quiet.

"You forgot three: she's wearing pajamas downstairs," Gretchen added, "She never does that in the morning or when guests are over. She really must be out of it. She's sleeping through her first cup!"

Phoebe came down for breakfast at nine-thirty.

"Katie's still sleeping?" Phoebe asked as she yawned and looked at the body on the couch.

"Yes. Looks like she had a hard time sleeping last night," Gretchen said to her from the table.

She looked at Chakotay and said, "I actually shouldn't be surprised. Her father had trouble sleeping the first nights, too, when he came home from a mission. He said it was something about missing the hum of the warp core. But you slept well."

"Probably because I haven't been safe in a soft bed in eight years, including time with the Maquis."

"And because you don't need to worry if Katie's safe, too," Gretchen said.

Chakotay didn't say anything but gave a nod. Gretchen and Phoebe snuck a smile at each other.

...

They ended up leaving at ten-thirty. Once they got out of of the hovercar, they walked around a little bit before the ladies' spa day appointment.

Kathryn was now fully awake.

"Those are some good stores to look for shoes, Chakotay," Phoebe pointed out, "and those are some good stores for clothes. Don't go to that one. He's an ass."

"Thanks," he said with a chuckle.

Gretchen said, "How about we meet at those benches at two? We should be done by then. Did they give you new communicators?"

Chakotay checked his coat pocket to make sure he still had it with him. He took it out and said, "Yes."

They made sure they had each other's comm identifiers. Kathryn looked at Chakotay with a smile and said, "It's so weird not having to rely on our combadge for this. Mine is in my pocket!"

"Me, too," he said.

"Okay, see you later Chakotay!" Phoebe took Katie's hand and ran off with Gretchen trailing behind.

....

Kathryn looked at the colors and sighed. She picked one up and looked at it. Her bare feet wiggled in the temporary sandals as she decided.

"Oh, come on, Katie! Live a little. You're not working," Phoebe said over her shoulder as she looked at the pearly beige color in her hands.

"Look at this one. It's called, 'Fishnet stockings.'"

Phoebe handed it to her and she moved it in her palm. It was a bright, shimmery red.

"We've got to get you back out there!" Phoebe said.

"It is a nice color, Phee. I'll try it."

"Not just on your toes. Your fingers, too," she emphasized.

Kathryn smirked and nodded. They walked back to the spa chairs and sat down.

"Soooo, Katie. Tell us about this commander of yours," Gretchen said.

Phoebe chimed in, "Yeah. So we know he has a younger sister on Dorvan V. That he was in, you know, the Maquis, for awhile," she said, "How did he become commander? How did her get on Voyager?"

If her hands were free she would've rubbed her temple. The spa is a perfect trap, Kathryn thought.

"Well..." she told them about the Caretaker and how Chakotay sacrificed his ship to stave the Kazon while she was on the array. She quickly rushed through the destroying of the array and stranding them there. It was a guilt she she still lived with.

"Ooooh. Then what?" Phoebe asked with her eyes covered in cucumber mask.

"Then he became my first officer," she said.

"Hold on, Kathryn. You're missing a few steps. How did he become first officer? What happened to the one you originally had?" Gretchen asked.

Kathryn felt a bit embarrassed. She forgot about Henry Cavit. He was a not the most pleasant man. Starfleet wanted them to get out as soon as Voyager was cleared. He was the best out of three choices.

"Commander Cavit was one the crew killed when Voyager when through the array. Chakotay was in Starfleet before he joined the Maquis. He actually taught tactics at the Academy. I couldn't have two captains on a ship and I needed our crews to work together. "

"Was he hard to deal with at the beginning?"

"Actually, no. He put out the fires with the Maquis. There were only several heated arguments he had that were pretty bad. They happened in the last few years."

She thought of when the fought over the Borg, the Void, and Captain Ransom. Those were miserable times.

Gretchen said, "He's very protective of you."

"He is my first officer. They are supposed to be concerned about the captain on the ship."

"I'm not talking about the ship," she said.

Phoebe thankfully broke in and said, "How did he stay single in the Maquis and Voyager?!"

"He had a girlfriend for awhile from the Maquis on Voyager."

"What happened?"

"She turned out to be a Cardassian from the Obsidian Order who was disguised as a Bajoran to infiltrate the Maquis."

"Damn!" Phoeve said, "So what happened to her?'

"She slipped off to join the Kazon. Became partner of the Maj, or leader. Remember how we were are deserted on that planet. With the fire?"

They nodded.

"It was because of her. She died during an attack between the Kazon and Voyager."

Kathryn wasn't going to mention Chakotay being tricked with the baby. They didn't need to know.

"Well, that would certainly put me off dating for awhile," Phoebe said.

Gretchen said, "How did you deal being away from Mark, Katie? I mean, not to be rude, but did you ever...date?"

She felt a smooth piece of cool steel slide and press into her heart. Like an icepick.

"I... just assumed or pretended he was still waiting for me," she gulped and said softly "No, I didn't. Even after I knew."

'Even when sometimes I wanted to,' she thought.

"Oh, my poor Kathryn. Do you still love him?"

"I'll still care for him...just not in a romantic way anymore. Probably for a long time."

A wide-eyed and smiling Phoebe said, "You and Chakotay should get together."

"Phee!" Kathryn said after her head shot back up.

Gretchen said, "I do think he likes you, Katie. He can't keep his eyes off of you, even when he tries not to."

Kathryn blushed fiercely.

"Oh, she likes him, too, mom! Look at her!"

They both smiled at Kathryn but she rolled her eyes.

"Oh, that's so cute! That is the best loce story. Fate entwine an enemies together, who team up and end up falling in love. Sounds like a good holonovel."

"Pheeb, you're SO dramatic," Kathryn said as she took off her mask and headed towards the massage area.

...

Chakotay found shoes, clothes, and some gifts. He was glad that no one identified him even though he did stick out a bit. Maybe we was a bit too concerned...but if he was in San Francisco there would be no doubt that there would be attention. He still felt like a fish out of water, like when he went to Species 8472 replication of Earth. As if he was dropped from out of the sky and plopped onto Earth in the middle of southern Indiana.

He did feel odd in another way. Chakotay was hardly ever apart from Kathryn except when on a mission or when she went on a vacation that always seemed to be recalled because of an attack or whatnot. She was like...a tether.

She never really had a break the last seven years. He should help change that when he can on Earth, not just with a holodeck program. Chakotay bought some presents and giftwrap for the ladies and his sister while he was out.

Chakotay put his things in the hover car and decided to head over to the bakery he saw. He got a fruit tart and a tea for him, coffees the the ladies, and few French bread baguettes for dinner. It would be a good thing to stuff in his mouth while Mark was there...

He saw the Janeway women approach his bench with bags in their hands. They sat down at the benches and he handed them their coffees.

"Thanks, Chakotay," they echoed. He smiled and sat back down.

"Looks like you three had fun," he quipped in a jovial tone.

"It was more of an interrogation," Kathryn said and gave a side eye to her mother and sister.

"Well, at least you have your coffee," he said.

"How did you do?" Kathryn asked 

"I found what I was looking for. You Indianans sure have an oddly large boot selection, though."

They laughed.

"Let's go home and have lunch. My butt is freezing!" Gretchen said. With a chuckle, they walked to the hover car and packed it.

"I'll drive this time," Kathryn said. She was not much in a sharing kind of mood anymore and they know not to bug her much when she drives. She went on the driver's side before anyone could object.

Gretchen and Phoebe sat in the back, leaving Chakotay to take up the passenger's side.

"You know what they say about claiming shotgun. You get to play the music this time," Phoebe said.

"I'm okay," he said.

"No, really," Phobe said.

Chakotay was shy about music except for his jazz. He knew Kathryn liked some classical music but he didn't know what else she liked. He took off his glove, switched through the music, and stopped.

"What _**is**_ this music?" Chakotay asked, appalled.

Phoebe said, "Oh, it's Bolian rap music. It was a funny fad a few years ago."

"Well, that's awful," he said switched the music 

Kathryn laughed and said, "I agree."

He finally found some music that was fine. Kathryn drove as if she was piloting a shuttlecraft. He noticed her red shimmery nails and smiled. Phoebe must have had an influence there. He had to admit, he liked it.

"You both are quiet riders," Phoebe said.

"I just like to watch the view," Chakotay and Kathryn said at the same time. They looked at each other and cracked up.

"More like you are both thinking too much," Gretchen said, "Katie can get going on a conversation. I'm sure you both talked a lot on shuttles."

Kathryn looked away and Chakotay glanced down. Their times on shuttles were usually disasters.

"It looks like I've hit a sore spot," Gretchen said.

Chakotay said, "We haven't had lots of luck with shuttles. We ended up crashing them."

"Ah," she said and finished her coffee.

With that, the rest of the drive was silent on the way home.

When they arrived, Gretchen brought the baguettes to the kitchen and everyone else went to their rooms to put their purchases away. Chakotay decided to change into his new regular shoes. They felt very comfortable.

When he came back down, the ladies were making lunch.

"Anything I can help with?"

"Not with lunch, it's ready," Kathryn said. It was warm sandwiches and they placed them on the table and sat.

"You can help with dinner, dear. Can you cook? Goodness knows Katie can't cook," Gretchen said.

"Mom!" She said.

"Yes, I can cook," he said and tugged on his ear.

"Is that the truth? Or are you just saying that?"

"No, he _can_ cook," Kathryn said.

Phoebe said, "A man who can cook. That's sexy! Are you sure you're single?"

Chakotay coughed on his water. Kathryn bit her cheekwhile chewing on a sandwich. She smoothed her cheek with his tongue.

"I guess we'll see tonight," Gretchen said.

There was a beeping sound. Gretchen hot up and went to the closest comm console.

"Chakotay, it's for you," she said, "I'll patch it the office."

He nodded and said, "Excuse me."

He hurried up the stairs, closed the door to the office, and activated the desktop monitor.

"Hello, Chakotay!"

"Sekaya!" He said in surprise.

"How-"

"An Admiral Paris because of someone named Gretchen Janeway."

"Did you get my message from a few days ago?"

"Yes. I can't wait to see you! We have so much to talk about."

"Same here. It's so good to talk to you."

"So, you're a free man, am I correct? Pardoned?"

"Yes and all Maquis can keep their Starfleet commissions."

"Are you keeping yours? Staying on Starfleet?"

"I think so. I'm figuring it out."

"It's unlike you. You usually know exactly what you want."

He smiled at that.

"Okay, I haven't seen you smile like that in who-knows-how long. Who is it?"

"Who is who?"

"The woman on your thoughts."

His dimples showed.

"I knew it. Who has got your eye?"

"I'll tell you when I see you."

"Oh, that's not fair, big brother."

"How are you?"

"I am fine. Everyone wants to know when you're coming so we can have a big feast."

"Well, like I said in my last letter, I won't now for sure until debriefings are officially over in two weeks. I'll let you know."

"Where are you now? You are not at Starfleet right now."

"Indiana."

"Indiana? Why...ohhhhh. You're with her?"

"Yes and no."

Sekaya gave him a glare. "Well, bring her with you if you're going to be all secretive. I'm interested."

"We'll see," he said, teasing her.

"How have you been doing? Readjusting to regular life?"

"It's going. It feels odd. It's nice to feel secure and sleep in an actual bed. I think it's harder on the captain," he let slip.

She smiled, "The captain?"

He tried to cover for his slip-up.

"We're still in contact."

"Umhmm. Well, I love you. Miss you," she said.

"I love you and miss you, too," he said, "See you soon "

"Bye," she said.

...

Kathryn was sitting in an armchair doing a Sudoku puzzle. Phoebe was drawing in a sketchbook while splayed out on the couch. Gretchen was putting on her boots and coat so she could check on the chickens.

Chakotay came downstairs and Kathryn watched him. He made a beeline for her mother and hugged her in surprise as she just put on her coat.

"Thank you," he said.

"You're welcome," Gretchen said.

Kathryn was confused and knew, besides his recent hugs with her, that she never saw him hug anyone.

"Who was it?" Phoebe asked.

Chakotay walked over and said, "It was my sister."

"Oh, I would've liked to see her," she said.

He smiled and sat down on the other couch as Gretchen left for the barn.

"Why did you thank my mom?" Kathryn asked.

"It's, well, still not the easiest to contact Dorvan V. It _**is**_ under Cardassian control. I wasn't sure how well I would be received..."

"As a former Maquis," Kathryn said.

"Yes. So I sent a letter and I thought it would take longer for her to get it and get back to me. After all, the tribe still doesn't use a lot of technology. But apparently your mother talked to Admiral Paris and, well, took care of things."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Kathryn placed the puzzle on her lap." I could've-"

"I know but you had a lot of things on your plate. I didn't want you to worry."

"But-"

"Kathryn," he said.

She grunted in disapproval and at her stupidity. She should have known...

"Stop. It's fine," he said, reading her mind.

Phoebe furrowed her brows trying to figure it out in her mind what was going on.

"It's all settled," Chakotay said. Kathryn went back to her Sudoku puzzle.

Phoebe inwardly smiled that they could communicate and know what each other was thinking without hardly saying anything.

...

"Chakotay, let's put those cooking skills to the test! Come, it's time to start making dinner," Greychen called.

"Yes, ma'am," he said after he put down his book and went to join her.

Phoebe moved couches to sit closer to her sister.

"So how do you know he's a good cook?"

"How do you think, Pheebs?" Kathryn said.

"Has he cooked for you?" She leaned in over the couch arm towards her chair.

"Yes," she said without looking up from her puzzle.

"I'm not talking about for multiple people," Phoebe clarified.

"Yes. We had dinner meetings," she said, still focused on her puzzle.

"OoooooOh," she winked and said, "What did he make?"

"Different things," she said.

"Did you cook for him?"

"Yes."

"And he didn't get food poisoning?" She tested.

Kathryn looked up from her puzzle and gave her a glare.

"No."

"Where did he learn to cook?"

"Ask him!" Kathryn huffed and went upstairs to the guest room with her apartments boxes. She still had to go through some more before dinner. Kathryn only wanted to give Mark any of the things she thought were his all at once while he was here.

About a third of it was random decor and she decided to give away half of it. Twenty-five percent were books she liked to re-read. Most of those she decided to keep. The rest of the forty-five percent was memorabilia, paraphenelia, etc.

Most of it was from before Mark. There were some gifts he gave her she decided to keep because she still liked them. Some to donate. Then there was the one item she was most curious about. The engagement ring. It sat it a samll, very thin maroon velvet box, of 2x2x0.5 inches. Kathryn opened it to reveal it, sitting on its side. It was simple, because he knew she didn't like flashy things. It was a thick silver band with a small diamond set inside so that you could see the side of it. Only the top edges of the metal kept the top of the diamond in place. Mark made a philosophical horticulural reference, saying, 'The diamond is the seed in the ground, setting roots and paving a way for our future.'" Yes, that was Mark.

She closed it and stuck it in her pocket for later. Kathryn finished sorting the keep, donate, and recycle boxes when Phoebe came in.

"Dinner's almost ready. It's close to six and mom wants us to help set up the table. You should change," she said.

Kathryn looked down and saw dust on her clothes."Yeah,' she said.

"You should wear one of the new clothes you got today! Come on!" She waved her over so that they could both go to Kathryn's room.

...

Chakotay washed his hands and took off the dish towel from his shoulder to dry and place next to the sink.

"Nice job, Chakotay. I'm impressed," Gretchen said.

He blushed a little and said, "Thanks, Gretchen."

They walked out of the kitchen towards the dining table.

"Girls! You were supposed to set the table so we can put the food out!" She yelled.

They heard a scrambling, some more scrambing, then movements of shoes on the stairs.

"Phoebe, didn't I tell you to tell Kathryn to come and help?" She said as her youngest daughter popped out of the kitchen.

"Yeah, she's right behind me, mom."

With a slight delay, Kathryn popped out around the corner from the living room.

Chakotay's jaw dropped at the sleeved v-neck evergreen silk blouse that gave just enough mystery as to what was behind the brass buttons. Her earrings dangles from her ears above her black slacks and charcoal flats.

Phoebe had changed, too, but this was Kathryn. He was glad he changed his shoes. Kathryn's eyes wandered to his and his throat went dry.

"You look very nice, Katie," Gretchen said before she handed Kathryn the place settings.

Chakotay went back into the kitchen to bring out the silverware. As he helped the ladies, his eyes kept wandering to those buttons.

As on cue, the door chime rang as soon as everything had been sorted out on the table.

Gretchen walked to the door with the others behind her.

"Nice to see you! Come in," she said to the Johnson family. Once they started to remove their outerwear, a crying whine came from among them.

Then, something red came bounding for Kathryn.

"Molly?!" She said as the Irish Setter went berserk after finding its long-lost owner.

Katheyn kneeled down to pet Molly, who smothered her in kisses in every practice. Red fur easily spattered among the black pants.

"Molly, yes, I'm here. I'm here. Calm down, girl. Molly!"

Molly was ten and had faded fur, but she still had enough energy enough for a barrage of kisses as she cried of excitement. Molly licked the tears that came down her face in a waterfall. Eventually, Molly tired herself out and went to Kevin after he was helped out of his winter clothes.

"Wow, Molly really likes you," the boy said.

"Well, she was Molly's main owner for awhile, Kevin. Your daddy also looked over Molly," his mother said.

"Why did you give her up?" Kevin innocently asked Kathryn. "That's not nice. If you loved her, you wouldn't have given her up.That's why Molly is crying now."

A stone formed in Kathryn's heart and chest. She barely managed to mutter, "I didn't. I need to wash my face. Excuse me," before she quickly went to not the downstairs restroom, but the one upstairs.

"She didn't give her up?" Kevin asked his parents.

"No, sweetie. You see, she was lost for a very long time in space. Remember when we saw her yesterday?" Carla said.

The boy nodded.

"She had just came back. That's why there were so many people. They were celebrating that the lost starship had returned."

"Ohhhhh," said the boy, "So they were both happy to see each other."

"Yes, son," Mark said.

"So will she get Molly back? Do we have to give her back?"

Chakotay's heart poured for Kathryn. The boy was so pure and innocent to the heartache around him.

"I don't want to give her back," the boy said, "But she can visit Molly, I guess. That would be mean not to."

Chakotay could see that Mark was regretting bringing Molly with Kevin. Chakotay wanted to check on Kathryn but knew now was not a good time. Someone neutral needed to break the situation.

"Well, dinner is ready on the table. If we wait too looking, the fish will probably be cold enough to swim back upstream," he said and there were some chuckles as he led them towards the dining table.

As the Johnson's sat down he asked, "Can I get anyone anything to drink? Coffee? Tea? Wine? Water? Juice? Milk? Hot chocolate?" He said, now looking at Kevin.

They said their their preferences and he went into the kitchen. Gretchen followed him in helped with the beverages.

"Smooth," Gretchen said quietly enough so the others could not hear. "You could make a good negotiator or a diplomat."

"I'm not too sure about that," he said as poured a few generous glasses of wine for the Johnsons while Gretchen got the chocolate milk.

"I've been around enough admirals to make a faucet out of the brass. I know a thing or two."

"But this isn't interspecies diplomacy. This is dinner."

She shrugged and said, "Phoebe can kept them entertained for awhile. Bring out the drinks while I bring Molly to the office and her bowls they brought. Then I'll check on Katie.'

...

Kathryn closed the door to the bathroom and sat on the edge of the tub. Molly wasn't her dog anymore, not really. She couldn't keep Molly. She wished Mark didn't bring her there. Or that she saw her at all. Molly's cries and whines were too much. It pierced her. Molly was on her prime years and Kathryn knew she couldn't watch her get older and die in about five years when the last time she saw her she was only three years old. It reminded her fr how long she had been gone; half the span of most dog's lives.

'Damn you, Mark. I know you didn't mean anything by it. But damn you,' she thought.

She removed the dog fur from her clothes. Then Kathryn washed her face, reapplied her makeup, and put on a strong face.

She met her mother in the hallway after she emerged from the office.

"I put Molly in there for the time being." Gretchen placed a hand on her cheek and said, "They should've left her with someone tonight "

Kathryn gritted her teeth and said, "Yes. Last minute only a couple days before Christmas, mom. You probably didn't give them time for them to find someone to look after Molly or Kevin, for that matter."

Gretchen heard the bitterness in her voice.

"I'm sorry, sweetie. If you don't want to see them tonight, I can have dinner brought-"

"No, I'll have dinner as planned."

"You sure?"

Kathryn nodded.

"Okay, then."

They walked downstairs and headed towards the living room.

"Would you like coffee or something else?" Chakotay asked and stood up as she sat down.

"That's fine," she said.

He gave her a look over and brought over the coffee. Then he poured her a water.

They passed the food around and Gretchen said, "Dig in. "

Gretchen sat at the end of the table with Carla and Phoebe on each side, facing each other. On Phoebe's left was Chakotay, who faced Kevin. On Chakotay's left was Kathryn, who sat across Mark.

"I'm sorry about Molly and that you got lost in space," Kevin said to Kathryn.

"Thank you," Kathryn said.

"How long were you lost in space?"

"Kevin, I don't think-" Mark started.

"Seven years," she answered, ignoring Mark's attempt to stop him.

"Easy to get lost. Space big!"

Kathryn smiled a little and said, "Yes, it is. That's why you need to take extra care of Molly for me, okay? She can't be worried about me becoming lost in space again."

Kevin smiled and said, "Okay. You visit if want. "

She nodded and ate her dinner roll as everyone realized that she let the Johnsons keep Molly.

"Thank you," Mark said to her.

Kathryn didn't respond and continued to eat part of the salad.

"So, how's the weather like in Colorado?" Gretchen said.

"Not as cold as it here right now but we do have snow," Carla said.

The tension eased up and they updated Kathryn on how Carla was from Colorado and how she and Mark met and hit it off at Questor philosophical convention.

'Right. Philosophers. He still didn't get why someone like Mark would give a book on the passage through hell as an engagement present, though. I mean, she likes poetry, but hell? Must be some dumb philosophical reason. Maybe I'll ask about it sometime,' Chakotay thought.

Then the conversation switched.

"So, if I'm correct, you're the Maquis guy Kath was chasing in the Badlands," Mark said to him.

Chakotay winced at the use of his nickname for Kathryn.

"Yes," he answered.

"The reason she got stuck in the Delta Quadrant," Mark said. Chakotay hear a very minute hint of bitterness and looked at Carla to see if she noticed. It seems she might have. Kevin was blowing slow bubbles in his chocolate milk. During the dinner it seemed apparent that he did not expect Chakotay to be at the dinner, nevertheless a guest there.

"No. I don't have some great Indian magical power to change quadrants. I prefer the Alpha Quadrant," he said smoothly with a slight smile. "The Caretaker had the power to do so," he said while he looked Mark straight in the eye.

"I was the reason we got stuck in the Delta Quadrant," Kathryn said, "It was my fault and my fault, alone."

Chakotay drank some water and thought, 'And here we go, again. Shit, Mark!'

Chakotay subtly moved his hand to her thigh, patted it, and took care of it.

"To save the a species, called the Ocampa, from an eventual genocide by aliens known as the Kazons. There was also no guarantee we would've had the time to use the Caretaker's array or that it would've worked, anyways. Or take us back to where we were in the Badlands," Chakotay defended.

"But, anyhow, I doubt Starfleet would not have been so particularly interested in my ship if the Caretaker didn't pull my ship in first, a week earlier, with Tuvok as a Starfleet spy. So, if anything, it's Starfleet's fault they out a spy on my ship," he said coolly, "If not, the Val Jean would probably be in the Delta Quadrant and Voyager most likely would not have been. However, the Caretaker was pulling ships from all over the galaxy. There was already enough damage to both ships when we went through. We might have not been able to survive the return. The Equinox had been there months longer and they couldn't risk it, according to Crewman Marla Gilmore. She said that the Caretaker said it couldn't bring them back with their level of damage."

Kathryn looked at him and said, "She said that?"

Chakotay nodded.

"When was that?"

"When she was helping with engineering when they first came on board."

Kathryn thought about how they fought then and that's why he hadn't told her then. She never even thought to ask them about the Caretaker. Ransom told her what the Caretaker said about it being too complicated.

"Well, we're just glad you're all home," Phoebe piped in. "Oh, did I tell you about my art exhibit next month?"

...

Once dessert was finished and plates went back into the kitchen Mark asked Kathryn, "Perhaps now would be a good time to talk, privately."

Kathryn nodded and he said, "The barn?"

He nodded and told Carla that he and Kathryn were going to talk before they headed to get their boots, coats, and accessories.

Their breath looked like rising steam in the night air under a bright moon. They went into the barn and she looked at the chickens while he was behind her.

"If I had know you were still alive...before Carla...I would have waited for you, he said.

She nodded with her head down. "But for how long?"

"Kath."

She looked at him. "We barely even got to have video communications via subspace. We lost communication after we had communicated with Earth, once. We could have been presumed dead...again. Even if Voyager made it made it back it doesn't mean I would have. You can't guarantee that you would've waited seven, ten, twenty years. I mean, you couldn't last three, four years."

Mark said, "Oh, that's not fair. I'm sure you..."

"What? Dated? Had love affairs? Got married? Had children? The closest I got to that before your letter were two kisses from **holodeck** characters. Even after that, it was a manipulative alien trying to entrap my crew. Then it was a relationship when my mind was wiped for forced mine labor. So no, I haven't exactly been putting it as a priority. I had to captain a ship," she said.

"You never made it a priority, though, did you?"

"What are you talking about?" Kathryn asked.

"When we were engaged you never made a date for the wedding. When this mission popped up, you were eager to go."

"I was assigned to Voyager before they gave me the mission. I couldn't captain Voyager if I rejected the mission. I was already on shaky ground on the USS Bonestell. I even asked you before the mission. If Voyager went well, my captainship would finally be stable!"

"It was supposed to be three weeks! If it had been a year, or more, would've said let's get married and take me with you!" Mark said.

"How was I _**supposed**_ to know what would've happened?"

"Why didn't you set a date?!" He barked.

She snapped, "Because of Justin!"

There was a silence.

"That was the last time I set a date. The day of the accident," she sighed, "I was afraid to jinx it at the time. Of course, it sounds ridiculous _now_ _ **.**_ "

He slowly put his hands on her arms and said, "You could have told me."

"I was planning to when we returned," she said.

"I'm so sorry, Kath. I really am."

She put her hand in her pocket and pulled out the ring box.

"This belongs to you," she said.

"No, keep it. It's yours," Mark said.

She took his hand and placed the thin ring box in it and closed his fingers over it.

"No, you must take it. Do whatever you want with it. I just can't keep it. It's too painful. It reminds me of when I felt alone on Voyager," she said.

Mark nodded and gave her a hug.

"Your family is lovely, Mark. Perhaps we can all gave a meal in Colorado sometime," she said.

"I would like that. Friends?"

"Friends."

They walked back to the house and they found everyone on the couches or armchairs with hot chocolate or coffee. Kevin was asleep under his mother's arm on the couch.

"Looks like we should be getting home," Mark said to Carla, "He' _s_ _out_!"

Carla said, "Chakotay has been sharing ancient stories of his tribe," she said and started to place Kevin into Mark's arms before standing up.

Kathryn smiled a little but the recent conversation had worn her down enough she couldn't let out a chuckle. She looked at him and he shrugged innocently.

Carla gathered Molly and her bowls from the office with Gretchen's help. Everyone said their goodbyes and the Johnsons, plus Molly, left in their hover car.

Kathryn took off her coat and boots at the door. She gathered her beanie, scarf, and flats into her hand.

Before anyone said anything she said, "I'm going to take a bath and go to bed. Goodnight, everyone," and she headed upstairs.

...

While Kathryn talked with Mark it was actually a nice time. Carla was kind woman and Kevin was an inquisitive boy. Chakotay's stories didn't last long before Kevin fell asleep. But everyone asked him to continue even afterwards.

When Kathryn returned he noticed she was a little worn. Kathryn said she was retiring for the night and he figured that he would talk to her tomorrow. This was something that had to heal on its own.

Chakotay joined in saying goodnight with Phoebe and Gretchen and watched Kathryn go up the stairs.

Chakotay tightly gripped his pillows as he tried to ignore the muffled cries he heard late that night from down the hall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 4 written 6/22-6/24/2020.


	5. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

The next morning Kathryn didn't leave her room.

She didn't know what time she woke up. She figured it was later rather than earlier. The mattress, down comforter, and blankets molded around her body. She didn't feel like moving. It was very cozy and comfortable. She watched the dancing leaf shadows from the nearby birch tree outside her window. There was a yellow light that filtered through the window. It shot through a prism that sat on the windowsill, causing a blurred rainbow upon the wall.

She could hear Leonardo's voice:

_"There are times, Catarina, when I find myself transfixed by a shadow on the wall, or the splashing of water against a stone. I stare at it, the hours pass, the world around me drops away, replaced by worlds being created and destroyed by my imagination. A way to focus the mind."_

She had finally reached the rainbow. Yet it was all a blur.

Kathryn heard a sound at her door and footsteps walk away. The smell of coffee made her stomach grumble until she couldn't help it anymore.

She grudgingly moved to get out of bed. She swiveled her legs and feet on the side of the bed and slipped on her slippers. She walked towards her door and slowly opened it. Near the door was a steaming cup of black coffee with a warmed bagel and cream cheese was next to it on a plate. She smiled and took it inside and closed the door. Kathryn took the coffee and bagel to her bed. She drank some coffee and ate some of the bagel.

...

Chakotay's foot shook as it has braced across the the opposite leg. Kathryn hadn't come out of her room yet and it was almost noon.

"She has to come out to use the restroom sometime," Phoebe said an hour earlier.

But he knew coffee had its downsides. It had been half an hour since the coffee and bagel were taken. It was only a matter of time.

Finally, Kathryn came down, dressed, with the plate and cup in her hands.

"Good morning...or should I say... good afternoon?" Chakotay said over his book.

"Good afternoon," she said and headed towards the kitchen to put the cup and plate away.

She came back out and said, "Where's mom and Phoebe?"

"They're handing out gifts to neighbors and friends. They left about half an hour ago."

"Ahhhh," she said. It was Christmas Eve and they usually went to neighbors and family friends with fresh eggnog or coffee, cookies, and a gift. It was a tradition.

"They said if you want to join them you can call them," Chakotay added.

She sat on the couch he was on and said, "No, it's all right. It takes up most of the day and I don't really feel up to it right now. "

"So, what do you feel up to?'

"A walk?" She asked.

Chakotay closed his book and said, "Sure. A walk sounds good. That is, if you want me to join you. "

"Come with me," Kathryn said.

He helped her with her coat as they prepared to go out.

The day was clear and frosty. He let her lead the walk. They were quiet until they approached an old tree.

"This is my favorite tree. Here I would read, think, climb, everything."

Chakotay slid his gloved hands into hers and said, "Thanks for showing it to me. It is a lovely spot."

Kathryn looked at him and smiled. She squeezed his hand.

"I'm glad you're here so that I could show you."

"Me, too," he said.

Kathryn looked into his deep brown eyes as he looked into hers. She saw him lean his head down and her heart began to pound. Just as he got very close to her, she didn't notice his hand slip from hers before he lifted her straight up into the air with his arms around her thighs.

"Chakotay!" She said as she looked down at him and braced her arms on his shoulder.

"Now you can be as tall as the trees. Look around."

Kathryn lifted her head and looked around. He slowly turned as she looked at the view from the hill. There was soft snow covering the house, the barn, and nearby field. It looked so peaceful.

He slowly slipped her down and her hands stayed on his shoulders. His arms were still around her. They moved their heads towards each other until their mouths met. Although the air was cold and their faces were cool, their lips were warm. His lips felt soft. The kisses were sweet of peppermint tea. After the initial pressed kisses she opened her mouth to let him in. She felt a release valve open as she shivered and sighed in his mouth. It felt good. She felt good. She started to feel loved again. Like a woman again. Wanted again. Someone worth waiting for. She had to be reminded after last night that she could have this.

Chakotay guided her back against the tree and out of sight of the house. It felt different than the first time. She wasn't crying. It wasn't the holodeck. They weren't in charge of almost one hundred and fifty people on a starship. They were home, specifically, her family home.

It went on and on. She lost herself in their embrace. She felt protected. Secure. Kathryn lowered her hands to his waist when they grew tired. Chakotay cupped her rosy cheeks with his hands as he explored deeper within.

Finally, they pulled one last kiss and held their heads pressed together.

"I think my lips are chapped now and it wasn't just the cold air," he chuckled.

"My arms are definitely not used to being up for so long," she giggled, "and my nose is still a little cold."

He moved his nose along hers and whispered, "I'll take care of that."

Her eyelashes fluttered and let a cute grin show.

Chakotay continued caressing his nose along hers until her nose warmed up. "Better?"

"Oh, yes." Kathryn said and rested her head back against his chest. She heard him take in and release a comforting breath.

...

Chakotay watched her face when she put her back down. He wasn't going to ask her about last night. He wanted her to move forward, not back. She saw her clear blue eyes and steam arise out her mouth. He felt the pull between them as their eyes darted to each other's nose and mouth. They met each other's lips and started to kiss. Her mouth opened a bit and he took it. He automatically backed her against the tree.

When she put her hand onto his waist and tugged Chakotay took her face into hands and went deeper. His focus was only on her. It was passionate. Peaceful. Warm. He felt heart reaching for hers and unwrapping it.

Eventually, they slowed down and pressed their foreheads together. He realized his lips were chapped and chuckled. No one has ever worn out his lips before.

Kathryn said her nose was cold and initiated some nose "kisses". It was very intimate and he saw that she took great delight in it.

'Guess we should do it again sometime,' he thought.

When her nose was warmed up she placed her cheek against his chest. He sighed in comfort at the feel of her against him. Chakotay placed a hand on the back of her beanie.

Chakotay breathed her in. He felt whatever he could of her heartbeat under all of those layers of clothing he wanted to strip off.

'Another time,' he thought.

After about a minute Kathryn said, "Let's continue our walk."

"Okay," he said.

They broke off their embrace and she took his hand in hers. He knew that was a big step for her, as was the kiss; especially after last night. He worried that he may be going to fast but she was going the same speed as he was and she wasn't putting up much of a wall anymore.

He swung her hand in his to see what she would do. She giggled like a school girl.

"I realized that I still have your copy of Dante's _Inferno_. Would you like it back?"

He still swung her hand.

"No, I like that you have it. I mean, it was sort of fitting for our journey in a way, wasn't it?"

Chakotay smiled and said, "Out of just plain curiosity that's been burning in my mind since you loaned it to me...Why did he give **that** particular book as an engagement present?"

"I liked Dante's poetry and he knew I liked to read long books on the starships. Apparently that was the only book of his left in the bookstore," she plainly joked.

"Well, okay, then," he said in disbelief.

"I was also thinking about the housing situation. While you were sleeping I checked to see of they had my Starfleet housing ready and it was. You might want to check if yours is, too."

"Yes, I should. Thanks."

"And B'Elanna and Tom say hi. Looks like Miral is keeping them up. But Grandpa Owen and Grandma Julia have been helping out."

"Grandpa Owen?!" She laughed. "That's amazing he let's himself be called that."

"Yeah. And B'Elanna reminds us of our godparental duties and visit, too."

"It's only been a few days since we've been on Earth!"

"Apparently Grandma Julia is taking her new role very seriously," he grinned.

"I bet." She nodded and they walked some more.

Kathryn stopped and let go of his hand. He looked to see what she was doing he noticed her grab some snow and throw it at him. It hit his shoulder.

Her eyes were fierce and her smile wide.

"Did you just throw a snowball at me?" Chakotay said.

"And what if I did?"

He started to move towards her and she ran off and collected more snow. Chakotay gathered a snowball and threw it at her and missed.

"You'll have to do better than that, Commander!"

She lobbed one at him and also missed as he ducked. While he ducked. He took two handfuls of snow.

He ran at her and threw one that landed on her arm.

"Direct hit! Deflector shields are down to eighty percent!" He yelled and threw another, which also hit her.

"Seventy percent!"

She ran forward a bit and hit the side of his ear. "Yes!" She yelled, "Torpedo hit!"

Kathryn got him another time in his chest and exclaimed, "Alright!"

"Ah!" She shrieked as he got her at the collar back of her neck and tried to wipe it out of her coat collar.

He was able to get closer and got her thigh. "Fifty percent!"

She ran and ducked the next one. He bent down to get some more snow and watched her re-equip. She gathered the snow quickly and twisted to throw the snowball. Kathryn barely got it in the air before she fell awkwardly onto her side and let out a grunted, "Ah!"

Chakotay dropped the snow from his hands and quickly went over to her.

"Are you all right?" Chakotay said as he helped her sit up.

"My ankle hurts the most. My hip feels a bit sore. I must have slipped on some ice."

He noticed a little cut on her forehead.

"How's the head?"

"It just feels like a small bump. I think it's fine."

He held out his hands to help her up. She moved onto her knees and pushed up with her left foot. She took a step on her right and winced.

"That doesn't sound good. Is it twisted?" Chakotay said.

She walked a step and let out a quiet whimper, "I think so."

"Well, it looks like there's only one solution. Put your arms around my neck."

She followed his directions and he scooped her up.

"Good thing these new boots have a good grip," he said as he started to walk back towards the house.

"Good thing you have strong arms," Kathryn said and smiled.

He chuckled and said, "Your mom and Phoebe were giving not-so-subtle signs that you and I should get together "

"Oh, yeah? Like what?"

"Saying that you were single. That I was single. Dropping how they notice our interactions with each other."

"Which interactions are those?"

"How I look at you. How we have a full conversation in just a few words because we know what the other is thinking. Things like that."

"Mmmm. Should we let them think they're putting us together? Or show them that we already are?" She teased.

"Let's let them have their fun," Chakotay said and let his dimples pop out. She had just admitted they were together and he was very happy about that.

"Do you think they left us alone at your house on purpose?" He asked.

"No. It actually does take most of the day. My mom likes to talk with everyone for awhile. I'm sure with Voyager's return it may be even longer before they come back."

"Has your family always given out treats and gifts on Christmas Eve?"

"For as long as I can remember."

"Any other Christmas traditions?"

"We play board games and do jigsaw puzzles. Throughout the week. We wrap gifts in several layers so no one knows whose gift is for who until the last wrapping. It makes the experience last longer for everyone."

"That's nice. I should've wrapped them more, then."

She smiled and said, "Everyone's still going to know it was yours. The way you wrap it and the different paper will give it away. We try to use the same selection of paper so that it makes it more difficult to guess."

"Ahhh. Very clever."

"Oh, and if there's enough snow, we usually build snowpeople after presents and breakfast. I wonder if Aunt Martha and my uncle will be here tomorrow. I'll have to ask mom. "

They finally made it to the steps of the porch and she pressed the door panel lock and they went inside.

"Couch or chair?" He asked.

"Couch."

He walked over and set laid her down on the couch. She took off he coat, beanie, and gloves and handed it to him so that he could put them away. When he out his away as well he came back and she sitting up and was talking off her boots slowly.

"Ow," she said as she took it off her right foot. He put the boots by the door and asked where the medical kit was.

"The downstairs bathroom has one," she said.

He came back with the kit and saw her sparkly red toes.

"Nice color. Looks good on your little toes," he said and winked as he carefully lifted her ankle and scanned it.

"It looks like it's a light sprain. I'll heal what I can with the dermal regenerator on your tendons."

"Okay, _doctor_ ," Kathryn teased.

He smiled and put a cold compress around the ankle, placed it up on the coffee table, and sat up next to her.

"How's the head now?" He said as he cleaned and healed the cut.

"Little bit of a headache."

Chakotay gave her a kiss where the cut was.

"Mmm, I think it might be improving," she said.

He gave her a few kisses on the forehead and trailed down her nose and onto her mouth. After a few kisses on her lips his stomach growled loudly.

"Looks like your hungry for something else other than these lips," Kathryn said and smiled.

"How about I make us some sandwiches and coffee? Then..." Chakotay said naughtily, "...we'll continue."

"Sounds good."

...

After the late lunch Chakotay said, "Now, where were we?"

They kissed again, his fingers stroking down her neck and resting at its base.

The door started to move and they quickly assumed a position. Chakotay quickly grabbed and opened his book and she grabbed the rest of her coffee from the coffee table and brought it to her mouth.

Phoebe and Gretchen came through the door and Phoebe said, "Hello, you two."

"How was it?" Kathryn asked.

"It was good. We actually ended up finishing earlier because more people are out on vacation. Including your aunt and uncle. People are finally starting to enjoy themselves after the Dominion War," Gretchen said and walked towards the living room after shedding her winter gear.

"What happened to your ankle?" She asked her daughter.

"Slipped on some ice outside and sprained it on on the field," Kathryn said.

"What were you doing out there?" Gretchen asked.

"We were having a snowball fight."

"Ah. Who was winning?"

"We were about the same."

"You limped over from the field? I'm surprised it's not greatly swollen."

"Mom, she probably had an extra pair of arms for that," Phoebe hinted.

Chakotay blushed a bit.

"Did you do it on purpose, Katie?" Phoebe asked as she sat down.

"Yes, of course, Phoebe. I always like to risk injury to be whisked and carried off in a man's arms like some damsel in distress," she said sarcastically.

"You've read, _Sense and Sensibility_ , too."

Kathryn rolled her eyes. Chakotay made a mental note to read it in the future.

"What are you reading, Chakotay?"

" _The Count of Monte Cristo_ ," he said.

"Another epic classic. You guys should start a book club. Despite her looks, Katie has a soft spot for epic love poetry."

"I know," Chakotay said before giving it a second thought.

Now it was Kathryn's time to blush. Her mother and Phoebe smiled.

"She didn't get that from me. That's all her father. Such a romantic, although he never admitted it. That's how he got me. I was studying math on the quad and I heard him reciting some ballads, trying to get the delivery right. At first I was frustrated because I couldn't concentrate. Then I listened to the words. They were beautiful. I asked him where it was from and he said he wrote them. Apparently, he was trying to impress and ask out this one girl. He ended up asking me," she winked. "Katie loves that story."

Chakotay looked at Kathryn and saw her shyly smile at her mom.

"You two should get together," Gretchen said bluntly.

"Mother!" Kathryn said, surprised at her boldness.

"What? He's attractive, smart, strong, somewhat stubborn, he likes to read, and knows what you like. Plus, he can cook! Lord, can he cook after last night."

"She's right about that," Phoebe said, "Also, he's a very good story teller."

Kathryn smiled at that and looked at the pink on his face.

"Well," Kathryn said with a hint of coquettishness, "I think it would be fair for you to advocate my qualities, too."

Gretchen said, "We don't have to. But I think you would be harder to convince."

"Well, what do you think, Chakotay?" She pretended.

"It's a possibility," he jested, "What do you think, Kathryn?"

"I might be willing," she said.

"Oh! Come, on! Are you playing us?!!" Phoebe shrieked.

Chakotay and Kathryn just laughed.

"Mom, they're completely playing us!"

"Sure looks like it. Well, I'm glad," Gretchen said. "I'm not getting any younger and I want grandbabies."

"Mom!" Both sisters said.

Gretchen just smiled, tossed her head back, and went to the kitchen.

...

They all worked on a puzzle that evening and the girls caught up on the day's events. The fireplace flickered beside them.

"So how many girlfriends have you had, Chakotay?" Phoebe asked from a couch as she placed a connecting piece on the puzzle.

He turned red and cleared his throat, "Uh, enough."

"That many, huh?"

"No, uh, most were not exactly girlfriend level."

"So quick shags, huh?"

"Uh, not quite that," he said while searching for a piece from the rug.

"Here Chakotay, drink some water before you burst. You don't have to answer everything she asks, you know," Kathryn said as handed him his water from the side couch table.

"She's had...three maybe four, right?"

"Three. And _you've_ had... I'm sorry, I lost count after _ten_ ," Kathryn said.

"Yes, well it was ten," Phoebe said.

"There was that nice Carmichael man, Phoebe," her mother said.

"Yes, but he had to go away on a long work trip."

"You liked him," said Gretchen said, "and he liked you. I think he'll be back."

"Yeah. We'll see."

  
...

The next morning there were knocks on the bedroom door.

"Wake up! It Christmas!" Phoebe said at the earliest she has ever woke up.

"Alright, I'm coming," Chakotay said and chuckled.

When Chakotay opened his door he noticed Kathryn coming down the hall with crutches that she had in her closet from over twenty years ago.

"Hey," he said, "need a lift?"

"Only if you're offering," she said as she got closer.

Kathryn set the crutches to the side and she put an arm around him so he could lift her up.

As he carried her down the stairs he said with a huskiness to his voice, "You like this, don't you?"

"Maybe a little," she said as she bit the corner of her lip.

Chakotay smiled.

"But the toilet and bath situation can be a pain. Literally."

"How does it feel this morning?"

"Better."

One of the couches had been rearranged to face the tree along with the other armchairs. He sat her down on the couch and brought the crutches downstairs.

"So what's the order of things?" Chakotay asked.

Gretchen said, "Well, we usually have a brunch after the presents but we might munch on something. Usually fruit, an English muffin, bagel, toast, etc., with something to drink. What would you both like?"

"Some buttered toast and a hot chocolate, please," he said.

"A coffee and an English muffin," she said.

There was a slew of presents behind, under, and in front of the tree.

"That's a lot of presents, mom," she called out to her.

"Some are from neighbors, family friend, your Aunt Martha and your Uncle Jim, and some from your Voyager crew and their families for each of you."

Kathryn opened her mouth in surprise and look at Chakotay, who gave her a warm smile.

"They shouldn't have. Oh, Chakotay...they shouldn't have," she had tears welling up in her eyes.

He took her hand and said, "Voyager's crew is family, remember?"

She nodded.

"Plus, you're not allowed to cry on Christmas."

She leaned over and gave him a peck on the cheek.

Phoebe came in through the front door and said, "Okay, the chickens are set! Can we start?"

Gretchen handed Chakotay and Kathryn their food and drinks, "Almost. Eating a little first."

An audible sigh was heard.

"Phoebe, bring the stockings over and hang this up while you wait," they heard her say back from the kitchen.

Phoebe placed a stocking next to everyone's seat.

Chakotay took his and saw his initial sewn on a stocking.

Kathryn smiled and whispered, "I decided to use red thread."

"You made this? To match your toes?"

She gave him a light shove.

"I actually don't really know about... stockings. I thought of something quite different when that word was used."

Kathryn told him her "ancient" legend about stockings.

"Ahhh. Well, at least they aren't really used socks anymore," his eyebrow raised up and the dimples popped. "Do you open the stockings first?"

Gretchen and Phoebe had already joined them by that point. Chakotay put the plates back in the kitchen.

"We go with the flow on the opening of the the stockings. Sometimes before and sometimes after. We usually do it after. Each person can do it at different times."

He said, "Then we'll do it afterwards."

Gretchen said, "Well, Kathryn, dear, since you won't be able to hand out or pass presents I guess Chakotay will have to be the go-between."

Chakotay passed out the presents to everyone and they started to open presents.

Kathryn got Chakotay a utility knife and a leather-looking jacket.

Chakotay got Kathryn a collection of poetry, bath salts and bubbles, and an assortment of coffees.

Phoebe did receive a necklace from a Mr. Carmichael for Christmas and and she was very happy.

Kathryn got a quilt blanket from her mother and a canvas, paintbrushes, and paint from Phoebe.

Chakotay got a scarf and a flat cap from Phoebe and Gretchen.

Gretchen said, "Sorry, Katie. If we'd known you'd be be back so soon, we would've-"

Kathryn cut her off with, "It's perfect, mom."

It was already almost afternoon.

"Don't forget the stockings," she said as she went to refill their drinks and get brunch going.

"Go on," Kathryn said to Chakotay. He pulled out a fake lump of coal.

Kathryn laughed at Chakotay's quizzical expression. "So... I've been bad? Santa's naughty list?"

"Well, see if there's more,' she said.

There were sweets, tea packets, shoe polish, sunglasses, and a tie.

"So I was on the nice list?"

"Looks like Santa put a coal to say he changed his mind but don't forget to be good," Kathryn said.

"Is that just Santa saying that? Because there would be times I wouldn't mind being a little naughty," Chaokotay said and winked.

Kathryn gave him a smirk.

"So...were you naughty or nice?" He asked.

She took out some nail polish, sweets, some hair barrettes, a holonovel chip, and fuzzy sleep socks with delta shield on them.

"Nice, apparently," she said.

"Mmmhmm," he said and gave her a kiss. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas," she said and gave him another kiss.

"Well, mom, it looks like we didn't need to hang the mistletoe after all," Phoebe said from the armchair.

...

They ate brunch and Gretchen kept smiling at the glances the couple made at each other.

"Alright. It's snowpeople time! Each person makes their own. "

They got the appropriate clothes on and went outside. They brought a chair so Kathryn could make her own.

They started to make their snowpeople.

"The flat cap looks good on you," Kathryn said, "but I should've guessed when you wore that World War Two helmet."

"The time the Hirogens took over?"

"Yeah."

"You...you liked it?"

She nodded.

"You called me a gung-ho type of woman, too."

"I did?"

"When you were the American soldier still," she smiled while she formed the base of the snowman.

"I wasn't wrong about _that_ ," he said.

Chakotay gathered some more snow and said, "Your hair looked cute in that style."

"Oh, stop, you two," Phoebe joked, "Who were the..Heerojen?"

They just smirked.

...

Kathryn "Your snowman is lopsided."

"It has character aaaaand it's checking yours out," he nodded and laughed.

Indeed, it looked as if his snowman was looking at hers.

They both laughed.

...

**New Year's Eve Day**

Champagne was poured as they watched the New Year Come in.

"5...  
4...  
3...  
2...  
1...  
Happy New Year!"

Chakotay took Kathryn, dipped her, and gave her a kiss. He then gave all the other ladies a kiss on the cheek before they went out on the porch to watch fireworks from neighbors.

They clinked glasses and toasted the new year.

Once the fireworks ended, Gretchen said, "Well, goodnight. See you all in the morning."

They said goodnight and then it was just the three of them.

Phoeve shivered and said, "Brr. It's too cold. I'm going in, too. 'Night."

"Goodnight," they both said.

Kathryn and Chakotay watched the stars.

"It's so odd to see them from down here, doesn't it?" She said as she snuggled into his arm with her quilt on the patio couch.

"It is. Especially when we have stared so long looked for this blue marble," he said.

"About a week until debriefings and less than that until we go back to San Francisco" she said with a sigh.

"Yep. Then there's the welcome home ball right after."

The announcement was officially confirmed and sent by message that afternoon.

"True."

"Will you be my date?"

Kathryn smiled and looked up from his arm, "Yes, I'll be your date. But I'd like to keep our relationship to us...with the exception of a few close friends for now. Maybe after the debriefings."

"I understand," he said and leaned his head against hers. "So, I have to wear a tux, huh?"

She nodded.

"Oof. I'll have to re-learn the bow tie. But it will be worth it to see what dress you wear."

"Gosh, I don't remember the last time I wore heels that weren't attached to boots!"

He chuckled. "I'm looking forward to it."

They didn't spend too long outside. With a few shivers, they went inside, took off their winter gear, and warmed up by the fireplace.

He took a hand of hers and faced its palm up with the quilt still in her grasp. Chakotay brushed his fingers from her wrist slowly to the tips of her fingers. Kathryn felt the tingling and sensitive sensation as she felt the fingers rise over her wrist and under the long-sleeved shirt under her sweater all the way up to her forearm. He took hold of the quilt from her hands around and used it to net her and bring her closer. She lifted onto her toes as he leaned down and kissed in the heat of the hearth.

"We should turn in," she said and took back the edges of the quilt from him.

He nodded.

They walked upstairs and Kathryn slowed down at the top as Chakotay approached.

She reached for his hand and opened his door, turned on his light, and led him in.

Chakotay opened his mouth in surprise. "I...I thought you meant it was getting late and that we should sleep?"

"Let's go to bed," she nodded towards his guest bed.

"Are you sure you didn't have too much champagne? Are you sure?"

"I only had half a glass. And yes, I'm sure."

"I'm just surprised...this isn't too fast for you?"

"Not if it isn't for you," she said as she out the quilt on the bed.

"Okay, then," he said and walked over to lock the door and tugged his ear, "I, uh, did get my booster when checked out for medical clearance."

"Me, too," she said as he walked over.

Chakotay took off his sweater and placed it on the dresser.

He gulped and said, "You sure? I mean... your mom and sister are down the hall..."

Kayhryn took off her sweater, took off her shoes, and said, "Yes."

They both stripped to their underwear and she slipped into the bed. Chakotay turned off the light and slipped in, facing her. The moon shone bright into the room, causing a mixture of blues, grays, and blacks across the room. Kathryn's arm light up like marble in the light. She placed a hand on his cheek and he placed one on hers. They looked into each other's eyes and kissed. Their mouths opened to let the other in. Her leg intertwined with his as he cupped her behind. He felt himself growing hard against her and she acknowledged it.

"It's been so long since I've done this."

"Me, too," she said.

"I've been waiting for this," he said.

"Same."

She shimmied his boxers as far as she could and he glided her panties down to beneath her cheeks. They individually took them off the rest of the way. They returned to their entwined side positions and Chakotay unhooked the clasp of her bra and let the straps slide forward and took it off. He angled and placed it on the night table. He felt her exposed breasts and kissed her neck. She grabbed his buttcheeks and touched his smooth chest. As their breathing became heavy, he slowly shifted and folded over her with the rustling of the sheets above.

Kathryn felt him slowly guide her legs apart and his tip found the opening between her thighs.  
She gave a nod and he nudged into her. Kathryn let out a grunt. Although she was wet, it was tight down there.

"Is it fine?" He asked.

"Yes. Continue," she said.

He ebbed into her and once her walls relaxed below it became instantly pleasurable. Kathryn could feel the bed molding around her as he looked upon his face and chest with the sheet and bed coverings covering the mystery below his waist. He could see his muscles with the moonlight and the jetting v-shape of his hip bones.

Chakotay slipped his arms underneath her shoulders and gripped the tops of her shoulders. Once he put his mouth back on hers an instant shock made its way from her mouth to down below, increasing her sensitivity. She let out a large muffled moan.

He moved one of his arms down and gave squeeze to her behind and they both gave moans in each other's mouths.

It was cozy under the covers as their upper bodies used each other's heat to shield them from any cold seeping from the window.

They moved in smooth rhythm and she was very happy this bed did not squeak or creak. Her neck began to arch back towards the ceiling and their mouths let go take in more air. She heard his rapid panting in her ear match hers. They were close. His body tensed up with hers and with a set of final cries he released his seed into her as fireworks crackled in their minds. Her body trembled at the shock of the ecstasy. They halted their movement as they caught their breaths.

"Kathryn, I love you. "

"I love you, too, Chakotay."

They kissed and he said, "Shower with me? Just a shower. I think I'm worn out for the night after the snow tubing from earlier today."

She nodded and he pulled out. It caused her body to cry for his return as they got out of bed and headed for the shower. Now they could see each other's full nakedness.

"There's no tub in here," he teased.

"I know," she smiled.

The water warmed up and they went inside.

He handed her his body wash and she said, "Ahh. So this is what you use. It smells good."

Chakotay looked at the back and pretended to read, "Warning: Captains may be attracted to other captains with use of this product." His dimples popped out and his eyebrows raised as he said, "Should've known."

She rolled her eyes. As they promised, it was just a shower. He pulled on his night shirt and pants over this boxers and handed her a shirt and sweatpants of his to wear. They slipped back into bed. Chakotay laid down on his back and Kathryn laid down on her side next to him. Her head laid on in the crook of his arm and chest. Chakotay held her arm that covered his chest and they went to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 5 written 6/25-6/30/2020.


	6. California

**Three days later.**

Kathryn woke up a white, gray, and beige room.

"Oh, yeah," she said as she sat up in the bed of her Starfleet apartment housing. Kathryn had just moved into the apartment yesterday. Hardly anything was put away. About half of her things were still boxes or containers besides done clothing and toiletries. It felt bland and empty as a result. She knew Chakotay's was the same albeit a bit smaller.

Kathryn had the bed to herself. She smiled thinking of New Year's Day morning. Kathryn had woke up on her side, nestled against his chest with his arm draped around her. It was warm and comfortable. That morning her mother and sister didn't say anything, but they knew.

Last night was the first night since before then that they had not slept together. San Francisco and Starfleet HQ meant more onlookers and they agreed to keep it discreet. Even when visiting their apartments since the relationship was fresh and for the reason previously mentioned.

However, that didn't necessarily mean that they didn't help break in each other's beds last afternoon after lunch...

Today and tomorrow were to be the last two days before debriefings.

She got dressed and did her morning rituals. Then she met Chakotay downstairs outside of the apartment complex. His was a complex over.

"Good morning," he said and smiled.

"Good morning."

"Ready for breakfast with the Paris bunch?"

"Yes. I don't know how one cup of coffee will last much longer today," she said.

"How did you sleep?" He asked.

"Okay...but a warm something..or somebody... was missing."

"Same here," he winked.

Soon enough, Admiral Paris was there to bring them to the Paris home for breakfast.

"Hello, Katie," get gave Kathryn a hug.

"Hello, Owen."

They let go and he stuck a hand out and said, "Hello, Commander Chakotay."

"Hello, Admiral Paris."

"Ready to go?"

...

The Paris family home had a big yard with a tidy and clean white fence around it. The flush garden looked overgrown yet tamed with some winter flowers. When they entered, Owen announced, "They're here!"

All of a sudden there was shuffling coming from the kitchen. Julia Paris came out of the kitchen.

"Oh, welcome! So glad you could come." In her apron she hugged them hugged them both. "Oh, sorry, Commander Chakotay, I didn't introduce myself. I'm Julia Paris, _that_ oaf's wife," Julia snuck a smile at Owen.

"Nice to meet you," he said.

"We're having breakfast on the covered patio since _somebody_ finally got the heaters fixed," she said and guided them to the greenhouse-like patio.

"Chakotay! Captain!' Tom and B'Elanna greeted their friends at the table.

They all sat down and during the large breakfast everyone was in conversation.

"Well, at least Starfleet had a few years to try to catch up on most of Voyager's travels from the first time you sent us information. The debriefings will be smoother compared to if we suddenly had seven years of catching up to do. You better get some speeches ready if you haven't already." Owen said, wrapping up his conversationon Starfleet.

"So, how's the family?" Julia asked Kathryn.

"They're good. Mom is mom like always. Phoebe is the same. It was almost as if everything was the same. It was nice but odd at the same time."

"I know what you mean. Except that dad and I are getting along much better," Tom said.

"Yes," Owen agreed, "We've actually been working on the setup for the welcome home ball."

"It's going to be weird to see everyone dressed to the nines and not in their uniforms. I'm looking forward to it," Tom said.

Kathryn realized she didn't have a dress yet and she wouldn't have much time to look for one or accessories after debriefings. After all, the ball was the day after debriefings. She would have to get her dress today or tomorrow.

"I'm sure Chakotay doesn't even remember what a tux feels like anymore," Tom joked.

"I have a vague memory of it being uncomfortable. Hopefully they've improved it by now," Chakotay said.

"Actually, they have made them more comfortable. If you haven't gotten yours yet, I can share where I got mine."

"Thanks."

"I'd prefer the uniform. Especially because of this little one," B'Elanna said and at Miral, who was in Chakotay's lap. "Hey, pass her along to the captain. You are not the only godparent in the Alpha Quadrant, you know."

Chakotay smiled and handed her to Kathryn. As she settled her in her arms she said, "B'Elanna, you can call me Kathryn. Same for you, Tom. We're not on a ship."

"Okay, but that's going to get some getting used to," B'Elanna said.

"Hon, help me clear the rest of this up. Let's let them talk for awhile," Julia said to Owen.

"Yes, dear," he said as he helped her gather the rest and and leave the patio room.

"Soo, how was staying at the Janeway household?" Tom asked of Chakotay.

"Not bad at all. They're very nice people."

"I hear Mrs. Janeway can be intimidating."

Chakotay said, "Well, in a way."

Kathryn laughed.

"That's a nice jacket. I didn't know had fashion sense," B'Elanna joked.

"Maybe I don't," Chakotay chuckled, "but perhaps she does." He looked at Kathryn. "It was a Christmas gift."

"Good choice, Cap-I mean, Kathryn," she said.

"Thanks," she said, "but I might've had some help from Phoebe."

B'Elanna said to Chakotay, "Looks good. With that look, you're going to catch a lot of eyes."

"There's only one pair I care about," he smiled and looked at Kathryn, who also smiled.

Tom did a double-take and squinted his eyes before saying, "Waiiiiit. Hold on a minute. Are you two...together? Together, together?"

They nodded.

Tom and B'Elanna smiled at each other.

"Well, finally!" He said.

Chakotay and Kathryn looked at each other and chuckled.

"Who else knows?" B'Elanna said.

Kathryn said, "Besides my mother and my sister, only you two. And we're keeping it among a limited group of friends and family for now."

Chakotay looked at Tom. "Don't worry, Harry will get to know, too. You can share it with him but he must keep a lid on it," Chakotay said and drank some water.

Tom smiled, probably thinking of Harry's reaction.

"Okay, so spill. Both of you!" B'Elanna said.

...

"Well, that was a nice time," Kathryn said as they were once again in front of Starfleet housing.

"It was. I bet Harry was informed within five minutes after we left."

"I bet," she said.

"How about I help you unpack a bit? Chakotay asked but with a hint of naughtiness in his voice.

"Another time. I need to go looking for a dress for the ball."

"I can-"

"Noooo. I want it to be a surprise."

Chakotay said, "Okay." Then he moved a bit closer but not enough to cause suspicion, "but let me know when you get back."

...

Half an hour later, Kathryn set out to stores that sold formal dresses. She went into one and found that they didn't have much of a selection.

She walked down towards the next one and started to realize she might have started to be recognized. Kathryn started to notice lingering looks as she walked so she started to tilt her head towards the storefronts.

The next store she went into there was a better selection. She browsed not knowing what she was looking for. Nothing was clicking. Although it was black tie and non-uniform, it was still a Starfleet function. How much skin is showing too much? How little would make her look like she was still in uniform but in disguise? Would she be seen as too much of a prude if she didn't show enough? She wanted to show enough to make Chakotay look at her the way he did when she had nothing on. A little frustrated, she left empty handed.

This time she heard whispers. She knew she heard her name a few times. Then, she heard, "Captain Kathryn Janeway, how does it feel to be home?" Kathryn turned around to see it was a reporter of some sort, due to to the device on their face.

"It is nice to be home," she said and decided to keep walking but they followed.

"How did you get to the Delta Quadrant?"

"All information on Voyager will have to wait until after debriefings," she said.

"Why? Is it a secret? I'm sure everyone wants to know. I mean, seven years is a long time to be gone. Was there some sort of secret mission?"

"I'll answer questions at the press conference in a few days."

"When everything will have been prepared in advance. What do you think now that the Dominion War is over?"

"I'll answer questions in a few days."

Then another voice appeared. Apparently, another news service.  
"What about the Maquis on the ship? How was it working with them? What about the Chakotay, the Maquis captain?"

Oh, so that's how it was going. She kept her calm.

"I'll answer questions in a few days."

"What about your love life? I'm sure you were lonely. Didn't you have a fianceé back on Earth?"

"I'll answer questions at the conference in a few days."

"What-"

Kathryn turned about, put on her captain demeanor, and said, "You must want to waste your time here. I'm sure you're intelligent and I'm sure you can hear me clearly. So I'll say this for the last time today and make it _perfectly_ clear. I'll speak at the news conference in a few days. I _may_ answer your questions. I may _not_. If you do not leave me alone I will have Starfleet security come. I would prefer not to because I shouldn't have to. I want to explore the city after, as you said, seven years is quite awhile. So excuse if me if I seem rude but I think I have the right to have some peace right now. Don't you? Because I'm sure there are a hundred and forty-four other people who would say so, too. I'm sure that they would appreciate you all not harassing their captain."

She walked on and they followed, but with fewer questions. Now, it wasn't the news services, but it was getting harder to walk around regular people wanting to know who all the fuss was over. People were starting to clump around and she couldn't get through.

Her fight or flight instincts were creeping up. She walked into the closest shop, went straight for the restroom, which was a single restroom. Kathryn locked the door and called for Starfleet security to come. Due to security scares during the Dominion War, there were complications will transport from within private businesses. She paced as she waited like a lion in a cage.

When they arrived, they knocked and confirmed the names signed to get her. Kathryn opened the door and as soon as they left the shop's doors they were transported her building. She thanked them both and dismissed them.

She went into jet quarters and messaged Chakotay's quarters but he wasn't there. Kathryn reached him over the comm device.

"Hi. Are you done already?" He asked.

"No, I just got hounded by the press and people started to crowd. I had to have Starfleet security bring me back."

He looked concerned and said, "Are you alright?"

"Just a bit jittery. Where are you now?"

"I'm at the place Tom recommended. It's about forty or so kilometers from the city. Maybe it's a good thing I did. I actually just finished."

"Lucky you," she said, a bit downcast.

"What's up, Kathryn?" He said at her reaction.

"I wanted to find something nice but I got overwhelmed over what styles and color to wear. Then they all came and I decided to leave."

She sighed and said, "I don't like ordering clothes over the Catalog. It doesn't look quite the same of fit right. I want you to like it."

Chakotay smiled and said, "I'm sure I'll like whatever you choose." He leaned over the screen and whispered, "I'm probably going to take it off you, anyway."

She blushed a bit.

"There are some dress shops here. Even the store I'm at have formal wear for women, too. It's a smallish town, so I don't think you'll have to worry. How about you meet me here? I'll be a lookout," he said with a wink.

Kathryn said, "Okay, but no looking to see what dresses I'm looking at. You'll have to stay outside."

He joked, "In the cold?"

"It's not that cold right now. Plus, you have your jacket on," she teased.

"Fine, then. Here's where it is..."  
...

Kathryn met Chakotay at the location he gave her.

"The stores are over there. There's a sitting area there. I'll sit there while you shop. Let me know if you need me for like, in case you can't reach the zipper," he teased.

She smiled and shook her head.

One shop had dresses but they were for young adults. She went to the next store, the one Chakotay was at.

A man approached at she began to look and asked, "Is there something in particular I can help you find?"

"I'm looking a for a formal dress but I'm not quite sure what style I'm looking for and what the new styles are. Some male friends of mine recommended your shop."

"Why, thank you. I'll have Jez help you. She's excellent at helping narrow down dresses for our clients."

He called Jez over and she said, "So how do you want to feel in the formal dress? That helps me a lot in helping you find the appropriate one."

Kathryn signed, "Do you sign? Forgive me, I noticed the implant. I haven't signed in a long time with anyone and would like to practice my skills if that is easier for you. I also want be a bit discrete, if you don't mind."

Jez smiled and signed back, "Yes, I do. I would like that. So, tell me what you're looking for in a dress."

"I want it to be a bit revealing but not too refined. Simple, but not too simple. I'll be in front of colleagues but I also want to impress someone special there."

"Do you want it knee length, floor length, or ankle length?"

"Ankle. I want to dance."

"Any color preferences? We can do any color."

"Reds, greens, blues. Maybe even purple."

"Sleeves? Straps?"

"No sleeves. Straps."

"How much skin?"

"I'm not sure about the front but the back can be more exposed."

"Perfect. I think I have some ideas to work with. Come with me."  
...  
A few hours later, she was done.

"It looks like you found something," Chakotay said as she approached.

"Yes, I actually found my dress and purse at the same shop you got your tux. I found the rest at the other shops."

Chakotay was glad because she was beaming with her smile.

"That's great! Would you like some lunch? I noticed a cafe and a quiet little park."

"That sounds really good right now. Shopping is exhausting. "

He laughed and nodded.

...

They sat at a picnic table tucked within some trees and out of sight.

"I was thinking that tomorrow we get out of dodge before debriefings begin," Chakotay said and took another bite of his sandwich.

She took a drink of her coffee and said, "That would be nice but I still have unpacking to do. Also, I need to get re-acquainted the layout of headquarters so I don't get lost on the way to debriefings. The Breen did some serious damage during the war. I don't recognize the new buildings."

"I'll can help unpack. We can do that today and leave tomorrow free," he said and gave ran his hand under on her thigh under the table.

"You just want to be in my apartment again," she teased, "but we need to be careful until after debriefings."

"It will be fine. We can have someone show us around the campus, okay?"

She smiled and said, "Fine. But tomorrow, let's go someplace that's not in the city."

"Okay," he said and gave her a kiss.

...

After they dropped their things off  
They went for a tour with an arranged tour guide. Then they went to her apartment.

"Where does this go?"

"Put it on the bookshelf," she said.

She put her favorite coffee mug from the ship in the kitchen.

"This?"

"The bedroom. On the dresser."

Chakotay put it away and came to where she was with her her other things. He came up behind her and slipped his hands on her waist and pressed and kiss to her neck.

"Ohhhh, no, mister," she looked over her shoulder. "We need to get this done first or none of that and no trip tomorrow."

Chakotay sighed and said, I can't help it."

She chuckled and said, "I know."

...

Finally, the last item was put away.

"There," she said.

"Good," he said and gave her a kiss. Chakotay took her hand and led them upstairs towards the bedroom. When they got to the top, he whirled her around to face him. Kathryn wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. Still kissing, Chakotay moved her against the closest free wall. He felt the smoothness of her behind and swept his hands around and up onto he breasts.

"Mmm," she hummed.

He lifted her shirt above her breasts and kissed the flesh above the cups of her bra. Then he lifted the shirt completely off and tossed it aside. Kathryn lifted his shirt and be bent down so she could remove it as well. Kathryn began to remove her pants, shoes, and socks and Chakotay did so as well. Their hands roamed each other and he slipped his hand under her panties and onto her thighs. She pulled his boxers down. He then pulled her panties down as well as his boxers and scooped her legs up around his waist. Once she was situated against the wall he pressed himself into her. He watched as her grip tightened and loosened on his shoulders while her breasts threatened to escape her black bra.

"Chakotay... I'm no spring chicken and neither are you. Let's go to the bed," she rasped.

"I was thinking the same thing," he chuckled and carried her over to the bed. He laid her down with her legs still around him as remained standing. Kathryn took her bra off and he thrusted once again. Chakotay could see her whole body react and it was beautiful. She was so damn beautiful. Kathryn watched him watch her with tanned muscles. He made her feel adored and desired with his eyes. Chakotay watched her tighten her grip on the sheets as she tried to move with him. His hands let her legs down over the edge of the bed and moved towards her hips. He leaned at an angle and kissed her stomach as her back began to arch with her moans. He grunted as he came closer and new she was close, too. She came in a pleasurable cry and then some whimpers and she shuddered in the shock of his continuing thrusts before he came. Chakotay slipped out and helped lay her all the way onto the bed before he joined her.

"That was different," she smiled.

"Yeah. Something different," he said with a dimpled grin.

They gave each other a kiss.

"Will you go with me to Dorvan Five?" He asked. "You invited me and showed me your family home. I think it's just as fair you get to see my sister."

"I'll go with you," she said.

"My sister will like you very much. I love you."

"I love you, too."

He moved on top of her and kissed her cheek and neck.

"Not enough for you, huh?" She giggled.

"Never."

...

Later that next morning the next day they met in front of the housing, again.

"I think I'm missing you in the mornings when I wake up. The pillows don't do justice," she said quietly and batted her eyes.

"You just think you are?" He smiled and said, "I know for sure I do."

"So where are we going?" She asked when he looked at his bag.

"You'll see."

...

Kathryn smelled sulfur as they hiked. She said, "Chakotay, I don't see anything but forest and rocks."

"Come on," he led her with his hand.

Then, natural hot springs appeared. "Here we are," he said.

"Chakotay, I didn't bring a suit."

"Who said you need a suit?"

"I don't-"

He took out of his bag some towels, some jackets, and some suits.

"When did you get my suit?" She asked quizzically.

"Yesterday when you were in the refresher."

She laughed.

"You know you still will have to get naked to get into it," his brows lifted and his dimples popped.

Kathryn opened her mouth and closed it. She gave a bit of a disapproving look.

He laughed and said, "There's a place to change behind that rock. There's a shed."

"How do you know of this place?" She said as they walked to where the shed was.

"When I still taught at the Academy I would take hikes on the weekend and I found this place. It was very nice after grading all of those finals."

She laughed. "I find it funny to think of you as Professor Chakotay. The closest thing I can think of is when we had Q junior on board and you tried to teach him diplomacy."

He chuckled, "That's the only time I _ever_ want to teach a Q."

The shed had a simple hook on the front and she opened it. There were some hooks on the wall and a wooden table. That was it. She noticed there was a tribal pattern on a blanket on the small table.

"Is this yours?" She asked.

"Yes," he said as he picked up the blanket and dusted it by the door and put it back. "Well, I'm going to change," Chakotay said as he took off his sweater and shirt.

No matter how many times she saw his chest she never got enough of it. He smiled as he saw her watch him take off all of the rest.

"Like what you see?"

"Absolutely, professor," she teased.

He laughed and put on the trunks. "So that's how it's going to be today?"

"Yes," she said and started to strip on front of him. When she was just in her underwear she saw his hungry eyes. She faced her back to him to tease him. She took the rest off and put on the suit.

"You have a cute behind," he said as she turned back around.

"I wonder...how many times have you checked it out on the bridge."

"All of the time."

"I thought I caught you once."

"You _did_ ," he said and gave her a little spank with a towel. "Now let's go the hot springs before we get cold."

They walked over and he gradually helped her into the hot spring before he followed in beside her.

"Ohh. This is nice."

"Mmhmm," he replied.

They sat and laid back for awhile with their eyes closed.

"Did you check if there were any teaching positions open?" She said, breaking the silence.

"I did," he said.

"And?"

"Nothing right now. A few are planning on retiring in a year or two from what I've gathered."

She nodded but didn't know if he was looking.

"Why do you ask?" He said.

"I just submitted my recommendation for your captainship."

Chakotay opened his eyes and looked over at her. "You did?"

"Yep. Starfleet wanted my recommendation before the debriefings."

Although her eyes were still closed, he squinted his eyes. "You already knew about the professorship availability, didn't you?"

"Yep."

He smiled a little. Of course she did.

"If they offer it you can turn it down if you don't want it," she said, realizing that she might have overstepped and open her eyes with worry.

She saw that he was smiling. "What?"

"I was going to tell you that you could send it; the recommendation."

"You were?"

"Yep," he said, mocking her a little. "I am sure they're going to make you a vice admiral. I mean, if they don't, what chances will Harry have at ever becoming captain?"

Kathryn burst out laughing.

Chakotay shifted her over onto his lap so that she was sitting between his legs. He wrapped his arms around hers. He kissed her hair and placed his chin on the crook of her neck.

"If they offer it, you're going to accept the admiralship, aren't you?"

"Yes, I think so."

"Are you still not sure?"

"It's just that I've heard of admirals wanting to be back on a ship and getting stuck behind a desk."

"I think after seven years in an unknown quadrant you need a break. Plus, you can pull a Kirk and get demoted to go gallivanting around the universe."

She hmpfed and said, "True. But I'm not you."

"Ha! What are you trying to imply? Huh?" Chakotay said and started tickling her.

"I'm just saying it would be easier for you to do that than I could," she squeezed out from the bubble of giggles.

"Mmmhmm!" He said as he continue to tickle her.

Kathryn wiggled away as she turned around and straddled him, pinning his hands with hers.

Her eyes were alight with fire with a a playful smile in her eyes. Kathryn kissed him fiercely and he let her take over. She tugged on his ears with her lips and made it to his neck.

He raised an eyebrow and said, "I thought we decided to just look and not touch this afternoon."

She put her head up and smiled with a innocent face she said, "Oh? When did we say that?"

Kathryn smiled and kissed above and across his pecs. She moved her hand down and stroked him with her hand.

"Oh," he grunted out and his eyes closed for a moment. She opened the closure of his trunks and pulled him out of it. He opened his eyes and watched as she moved the bottom of her suit to the side and pressed into him. This time he leaned back a bit and let out a large sigh as she moved her hips and thighs against him. He didn't know she could move like that.

Chakotay took his index fingers and moved her suit off of her shoulders and pulled it down forward until she was exposed. He used his tongue to swirl around her nipples before sucking. His hands squeezed her buttcheeks apart and pressed her into him more.

"Mmm," she moaned as she continued to rock him.

"Oh, spirits... Kathryn," he slipped from his lips when he couldn't concentrate on her breasts any more. He wrapped his arms around her and then kissed her lips. They gasped in each other's mouths as their orgasms were nearing.

"Chakotay...I don't think I can for much longer," she said as her she slowed and her thighs began to quiver.

He thrusted up into her and they cried out together at their hard release. Chakotay felt the white surge leave him, once again finding a home in her. They clung to each other with their heads buried in the other's shoulder.

"I lose my mind when I'm with you, my love."

"I know the feeling," she said.

They lifted their heads and explored their mouths in a deep kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 6 written 6/1-6/3/2020.


	7. Debriefings, Pomp, and Circumstance

She was brutally reminded of how tedious these things were. Usually, debriefings never or rarely went past a day in most situations. However, their situation was quite different.

The first day was for the different department or departments of the ship. The second and third days were for the heads of each department. The fourth and fifth days were individual debriefings. The six was was for overall follow-up with departments. There were counselors on hand nearby the multiple sessions across campus.

It was 13:15 on the sixth day and time was ticking away slowly.

Chakotay hadn't seen her in two days. There were circles under her eyes and she looked ready topple over. Her face a bit peaky. He was concerned and interjected, "Excuse me admirals, but it is 13:15. I think it would be a good time for a lunch and restroom break. If I may, I suggest a recess."

The admirals nodded and Admiral Hayes said, "We will break for recess for an hour, resuming at 14:15. Dismissed," he said and entered it into the computer before they disbanded.

Chakotay walked over to her and placed a hand on her arm.

"You should've called for a break." She nodded.

"Are you okay? You don't look so great."

"I'm exhausted and I haven't slept well. In the last few days they grilled me on details that I don't even know if I remember or know if they are correct. Right now someone could tell me my name and I wouldn't be sure if it was right. It's been hard trying to justify everything."

"What time were you let out the last few days? They let me out at 18:00."

"21:30."

"Seriously?!" Chakotay barked.

Debriefings started at 06:00.

He helped her up from her chair and said, "Let's get you some food and some rest."

"Have you continued to speak with the counselors?" He said.

"Actually, yes, during the first three days of debriefings besides a few times from Indiana. But since they let me out so late with the last two, I haven't recently."

"Maybe you should tomorrow morning, before the promotions ceremonies in the afternoon. I know it's been helpful for both of us"

Kathryn said, "Yes, I may do that. It's been... really hard."

"I miss Tuvok," she added. "I know he's on Vulcan recovering but he would've helped a lot. We wouldn't have to repeat things so much. But that was probably on purpose, too."

"I know. I miss that pointy-eared guy, too. I heard that he was coming for the promotion ceremonies and the ball tomorrow."

A small lopsided smile emerged from her. "That'll be nice."

They got lunch from one of the food hovers brought to relieve lines on the few messes and surrounding businesses during the proceedings.

They were near some trees and were sitting across from each other on separate benches.

"How have the Maquis questions been going?" She said. "Although you've been pardoned before we left the ship, I still get a lot of them."

She thought about questions on the Teero mutiny situation but decided not to mention it.

"Yes, I got a lot of those, too. It's been manageable most times. Others I just had to bite my tongue a bit and remember that the war didn't end long ago and there may be some lingering feelings from it, still."

She asked, "What about questions on the Borg? Oh, they said Icheb can go to the Academy after they evaluated him and he passed the tests. He took them before debriefings. They were going to ask Seven to work with the EMH at the Daystrom Institute. However, a lot of push and shove had to get into those recommendations during my debriefings."

"Yes, I got a good amount on the Borg. Especially about your decisions and you, Tuvok, B'Elanna, and myself being transformed by Borg technology."

She nodded and deeply sighed. "They were really questioning my decisions on interactions with the Borg. Questioning how we've been physically affected. I felt like Admiral Hayes was a word short of calling me insane."

"Have they said what they would do with the Borg technology?"

"From what I know, the admiral's new technology and anything related to that is going to essentially be non-existent. No temporal nothing except for the EMH's mobile emitter. However, because Icheb and Seven needed alcoves to regenerate, the extra alcoves can remain on Earth for backup and study."

Chakotay said, "I ran into both of them yesterday. I guess the both of them are adapting to Seven's aunt and it's going okay. They complained about the cultural food there, though. It's quite different."

"That would be an interesting gathering," she said as she finished her food.

"You should lay back and rest. I'll let you know when we've got to go back."

Kathryn nodded and laid her head back with her eyes closed and soon fell asleep.

...

They officially finished debriefings at 17:30. The nap earlier had given her boost to make it through it. Now, they were done with debriefings and it was a big relief.

Chakotay walked Kathryn to her door.

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow," Chakotay said.

"Stay," she said. It wasn't an order or a question.

"Are you sure?"

She nodded and he entered as she closed the door.

"No sex tonight. We're both tired. Just cuddling and sleep after dinner."

She nodded and she walked into his arms. He embraced her scent and touch. She felt so comfortable.

They had a replicated dinner tonight because they were tired. They didn't say much because they had talked a lot during debriefings. Instead, their looks and hand touches said enough.

They had some chocolate cake for dessert as a reward for making it through debriefings and cleaned up.

Chakotay turned on the bath and put in some of the bath salts he had given her for Christmas. While he did that, she scheduled a counseling appointment for eleven the next morning.

When they got into the bath they washed themselves and just soaked for a good while until they pruned. Then they put on robes and tucked into bed after setting their alarms.

"Goodnight, Chakotay."

He wrapped his arm around her waist and said, "Goodnight, Kathryn."

...

Chakotay woke up before she did. He found it funny that on the ship she usually get got up earlier than he did. Now that she finally could relax a bit she could actually get some healthy rest. However, the week had been draining as she was thrust in captain mode once again.

He just watched her sleep. He loved to watch her sleep. Everything was peaceful. This was one of his favorite things to do.

When she opened her eyes she smiled at his smile. They pressed their lips together and gave soft kisses as the snuggled against each other. They played footsie and their legs intertwined. He imagined that if she still had her longer hair that its tendrils would have spread across the pillow.

They both fell asleep a second time. When they awoke again she was tucked in the nook of his arm. He kissed her forehead and sighed in content.

Finally, she broke their silence.

"Do we have to get up?" She groaned.

"Yes, eventually, when your alarm goes off," he said, "On which you still have an hour left."

"Good," she said and turned to face him. He was a bit relieved because his arm was going to sleep.

Their faces pressed each other and she could feel a little of the stubble on his face. Their head moved down until their lips met each other. They were slow with their kisses as their mouths memorized the form of the other. Their lips were soft and juicy. Chakotay's fingers trailed from her neck and past her breasts along her sternum. Kathryn's hand held onto his hipbone while the one pinned under body pressed against his chest. The sounds of the their kisses made sounds like the lapping of waves on a shore. Chakotay's hand slowly undid the tie of her robe and slipped his hand beneath it. His hand and fingers traced to the border of her waist and thigh.

Kathryn's hand moved his robe tie and loosened it. Her fingers dipped under his robe and she traced his spine. She could feel his hardness grow under her belly and she shifted herself up more towards the pillows.

His hand massaged her shoulder and guided the robe off of her shoulder. She guided the robe off of his leg so all of his front body could show. Chakotay's hand swept down and edged her robe off her thigh as they hummed in their deepened kisses. His fingers traveled below and went inside her opening, stroking her. Kathryn moaned and wrapped a leg around his waist and pressed her body closer to his for more friction. After he stroked a bit and felt her wetness, he guided himself to her entrance and slipped in.

They took their time listening to their breaths and sighs. They made kisses and nibble marks on each other. He gave light squeezes to her tush as he ebbed within her. Soon it became difficult to keep himself in while laying on their sides.

In a smooth motion, Chakotay gently rolled her under him. Her legs were inched apart and he pushed in. Kathryn watched Chakotay put his hands in hers at the sides of her head. She saw the hands on pillow depress with each motion and felt her head sink into the pillow. He slowly thrusted at a constant motion because he wanted this tenderness, this sweet making of love, to last.

He planted some kisses on her neck and shifted forward to deepen himself inside of her. Her large sighs filled the air with his. They could feel every sensation, every touch. It was a quiet love making session but it was loud with emotions. Kathryn started to make some little soft moans as her hands started to tighten under his grips. He slightly increased his pace but also kept in constant. Chakotay's breathing started to become labored as did hers. He increased his thrusting some more, elevating their already heightened state of arousal. Her hips started to lift as she matched his thrusts with hers. Chakotay let a moan escape his lips and he increased his motions once more.

Kathryn was lost in the movement as if she was hypnotized. Her eyelids flickered as she focused on Chakotay entering and pulling out of her body. She felt tingling sensations below and in her mind begin to fuel the fire as he gradually increased his friction into her.

He was a great lover. Sometimes they made love quickly, sometimes they didn't. They both could read what the other needed and he was great at knowing exactly which pace to set.

He saw his waves cause her to tense up as Kathryn's orgasm started to emerge. Her hands gripped his hands tightly. He held them down with his own tight grip as her cries started to light up his own orgasm. Chakotay buried his head in her shoulder and she buried hers in his neck as they listened to their sounds of love. With a push and a cry, they were sent over the edge. He added a few more for good measure to let out all of his seed into her. They were covered in sweat and panting into the other's body. He lifted his head a placed a kiss on her cheek before sliding out and resting on his side.

He rubbed a thumb across her cheek and said, "What's wrong, Kathryn? What's wrong, my love?"

Chakotay noticed that she had tears across her face.

"Nothing. Nothing's wrong. It's quite the opposite. It's just that I love you so much and...that was the most intimate experience I've ever had."

He smiled and said, "So they're tears of joy?"

She nodded.

Chakotay took her closest hand in his hands and placed it against his chest. "Kathryn, I love you so very much," he said and gave her a kiss.

...

Chakotay put on his dress uniform for the ship-wide promotion ceremony that is being held in the main auditorium. He looked at the mirror, looking at his Maquis rank still on his neck. He never really paid attention to it. He did remember the first time he put on his regular uniform. Kathryn had just made him first officer on Voyager. Chakotay remembered shaking his head at the clash of the Maquis pip and the Starfleet uniform. He couldn't believe what was happening then. Now, he chuckled at the new incredulous situation of being back on Earth and about to go to a promotion ceremony with the Maquis rank on his dress uniform.

...

Kathryn fumbled with her pips as she put them on her dress uniform collar. She hated dress uniforms. She was thinking too much after her counseling session...

" _You seem nervous. Is it about the promotion ceremony today?" Counselor Deanna Troi asked._

_"Yes, I suppose so."_

_"You know you will either get to stay a captain or become an admiral. From what I have heard, it's leading towards admiral. Isn't that a good thing?"_

_"Yes."_

_Troi crossed her leg across her knee and held it in place with her hands. "Why would it not be? It's not just nervousness. There's some fear buried there as well."_

_"My father was an admiral. I studied to be a science officer. I never planned to be in command until Admiral Paris recommended me. If I am promoted to admiral, I'll be one of the quickest promoted captains in history. Also, one of the quickest to, in a word, be benched."_

_"You think you'll miss out on the action?"_

_"I guess."_

_"It's understandable. At heart, you are still a scientist. You desire to experiment; to explore new things. Yet, this is also new. But even staying a captain could be new adventure. After all, you may get another ship other than Voyager. "_

_Kathryn hadn't thought about that before. It was true that was a possibility. She didn't know about Voyager's current status. Would she would still be in service or be completely stripped?_

_"I actually never considered that."_

_"But that's not what you're afraid of... or protecting," she said and leaned forward._

_She clenched her jaw and stood up and looked out the window below._

_"It's your heart you are trying to protect."_

_Kathryn didn't say anything._

_"When we first met, your guilt was incredibly heavy. It lifted over the past weeks. I know I can't earn credit for most of it."_

_Kathryn watched the people walking down below on the sidewalk. Some young, some older._

_"How long have you been in love?"_

_She lifted her head up._

_"Excuse me?"_

_"Even if I wasn't a Betazoid it would be clear to a counselor. How long have you been in love?"_

_"I can't answer that," she replied._

_"Yes, you can."_

_"No, I can't...because of how the question is phrased."_

_"Okay. So how long have you been in your current relationship?"_

_"A couple of weeks."_

_"Did it start on board Voyager?"_

_"Not really established as one yet, but yes, right before we made it back."_

_"Do others know about your recent relationship?"_

_"A few family members, close friends, and crew recently. "_

_"How long did you know you cared for him? Loved him?"_

_"I...I don't know. There isn't just one particular point in time. I know there may have been a growing interest for probably five years."_

_"Did he feel the same way over that time?"_

_"Yes."_

_"Is that why you were unwilling to talk about relationships before today? Because they were a member of your crew?"_

_"That would be oversimplifying it, but yes." Kathryn looked over at the Golden Gate Bridge. It was a clear day and one of those random warmer days in January._

_"So you wonder how today will affect the future?"_

_She gave a chuckle.The future. There were so many._

_She remembered the admiral's words about Chakotay dying two years ahead in the admiral's timeline. But what about her timeline? Her stomach tightened._

_"What were you just thinking about?"_

_"Nothing."_

_"The future makes you melancholy?"_

_"I lost him in another timeline in the future."_

_"This is not that future or timeline. You can only experience one day at a time. All that's guaranteed is right now. Don't let it sacrifice today."_

Kathryn finished putting her pips and straightened out her uniform.

"Time to go," she said to herself in the mirror.

...

The auditorium was abuzz with people. There were members of her crew, admirals, some captains, some media, and...her face flushed. It was the President of the United Federation of Planets.

Kathryn suddenly became very nervous and she didn't know why. Hell, she's fought Borg, Species 8472, and the Vidiians. She even knew most amount of the people in this room by first name!

She didn't see Chakotay. Most of bridge crew were on the other side of the room and she would have to past a lot of people. All of a sudden she wanted to run but she stood frozen. She turned around towards the doors and she saw Chakotay. However, she continued past him through the door into the hall.

"Kathryn? Kathryn," He said and caught up and took a hold of her arm.

When she stopped he let go.

"I can't breathe in this thing," she said, exasperated, and stretched her collar.

"I think what you meant to say is that you couldn't breathe in there with all the people. It's going to be alright," Chakotay said as he looked her up and down, "but I'm sorry to say all seats in the back are taken," he said with a light smile.

He had rarely seen her so vulnerable in social situations but she was shrinking back from an event that should be a piece of cake.

"Very funny. You know as well as I that our seats are assigned."

Chakotay noticed that she was on edge and said, "Come on, let's walk a little. We still have time before it starts."

They walked outside and she let out a breath.

Chakotay said, "Kathryn. What happened in there?"

"I...don't know. I just froze. I can't explain it or why."

"When did you freeze?"

"I suppose when I saw the President of the Federation and the press."

"Fishbowl."

"What?" She asked.

"It's a giant fishbowl and we're the fish."

Kathryn added, "And I'm the prized fish."

He nodded. "You're not used to the attention or having your life under a microscope."

"What about you?"

"Yes, I've gotten a few looks because of the Maquis. I can deal with that. I know there are people who feel that we should've served some prison time. My past is my past. Plus, I don't think they want to mess with us. Look at how many people who would have our back in there, in that auditorium, no matter _what_ ," he pointed towards the building.

She looked at him teased, "Plus those boxing arms of yours."

Chakotay smiled. "Exactly."

"I didn't expect that this event would gather so much attention," Kathryn said.

"A lost ship for seven years? During a war? With former Maquis and Equinox crew returning board?"

"Well, okay, if you put it like _that_ ," she said sarcastically.

Chakotay subtly brushed her hand with his as they walked.

"I'm here with you. My seat is right next to yours on the stage."

She smiled and said, "Good."

He gestured with his head towards the building. "Ready to go back in?"

"Yes. I feel better now. You always know what to say, Chakotay," he said as they turned back.

He smiled and said, "Of course."

She gave him a slight shove and laughed.

..

Everyone was called to their seats and the noise started to settle.

The C-in-C of Starfleet began with, "Welcome, everyone. Today is a day of recognition for those who were on Voyager as we promote and recognize the duties of our colleagues. We have waited seven years for your return and we are happy to have you all here with us again."

There was clapping. The different departments of the crew sat in their respective fields so that they could be recognized together with their comrades.

"We will start with engineering. Admirals, Captain Janeway, please come to the stage."

Several admirals stood in a line to press the pips onto the soon-to-be receivers. Kathryn stood and walked forward and past the pip table to where the podium stood. From the podium she was to announce the names and ranks for promotions. Those who chose not to stay in Starfleet were in the audience behind those who did. She didn't know about her or Chakotay's ranks. Starfleet wanted to keep those a surprise.

Kathryn spoke, "Before we begin, I want to say that in our seven-year journey, this crew of the U.S.S.Voyager has performed exemplary against all odds. Together, we have braved uncharted space just as the first crews of the first ships in Starfleet had. We have pushed aside our indifferences. We have been put through trials that have tested our wit, our bravery, our sanity, and our will to live and survive another day. There are those who are not here with us now, but they are with us in memory and in spirit. Let us have a moment of silence to honor their memory."

After a minute of silence, she said, "Thank you. I am proud of each and every person from this crew. We have become family and nothing, I was recently reminded," she glanced at Chakotay and back to the audience, "can ever change that. Now, let's start with these long overdue promotions."

There were some chuckles and claps.

"We will go by last name in alphabetical order within each department, saving the departments chiefs and bridge crew for last. Crewman Lydia Anderson..."

Finally, it came to the bridge crew. That was all hers and the admirals stood aside.

Kathryn said, "Ensign Harry Kim."  
He came up on stage as Kathryn was handed the box with the pips in it at the podium by Chakotay. He snuck a wink as he did so and she smirked.

"Ensign Harry Kim. As captain, and on behalf of Starfleet, I hereby promote you to the rank of lieutenant commander, with all the privileges and responsibilities therein."

There were many claps and cheers. Kathryn walked over and stood in front of a radiant Harry. She placed the pips and said, "I know, I know. After all this time you finally get your promotion," she joked, "but then I would have had too many lieutenant commanders on the bridge! I know I'm proud of you but I know your parents are prouder."

Harry smiled and said, "Thank you, captain." Before he moved to the edge of the stage, he gave her an impromptu hug. She took it and gave him a hug back with a smile.

She went back to the podium and received the next pips from Chakotay.

"B'Elanna Torres....sorry, B'Elanna Paris. I'm still not used to that."

Tom laughed with some others.

"B'Elanna Paris. As captain, and on behalf of Starfleet, I hereby instate you to the rank of lieutenant commander, with all the privileges and responsibilities therein."

Chakotay walked over with Kathryn to B'Elanna. Kathryn smiled as she removed her Maquis pin and placed the new pips on B'Elanna's collar. "Good thing I listened to Chakotay. You are a hell of an engineer."

Chakotay smiled at them both.

Kathryn placed the Maquis pin in B'elanna's palm and she whispered, "A little keepsake."

"Thank you, captain. Kathryn. And thank you, Chakotay," B'Elanna smiled.

Chakotay nodded and went back to the table and got the pip box ready while Kathryn walked to the podium.

"Thomas Paris."

He approached the stage.

"Tom Paris. As captain, and on behalf of Starfleet, I hereby instate you to the rank of lieutenant commander, with all the privileges and responsibilities therein."

Again, claps filled the room.

She walked over to Tom and his father joined her. She handed the pip box to his father to place the pip on his collar. He said, "Congratulations, son. I'm so proud of the man you've become."

"As well am I," Kathryn said.

"Thank you, admiral. Dad. Thank you, captain. If it wasn't for you, I would probably still be in New Zealand," Tom said and smiled. Tom gave a peck on his wife's cheek when he stood next to her.

She returned to the podium once again after some wolf whistles at their peck.

"Lieutenant Commander Tuvok."

"Tuvok. As captain, and on behalf of Starfleet, I hereby promote you to the rank of commander, with all the privileges and responsibilities therein," she smiled. 

Cheers and claps once again filled the room.

She walked over to change out the pip. "Congratulations on the Academy professorship, again, old friend. I am glad you could come today. It's nice to see T'Pel, as well."

"Thank you, captain. She wanted to say hello."

Kathryn and Chakotay now joined the line on the stage. She looked at him with a bit of a nervous smile. He gave a smile and a nod, silently reassuring her.

The C-in-C returned to the podium.

She spoke, "As the old saying goes, 'Save the best for last,' or in this case, Voyager's commanding officers."

"Chakotay. As Commander in Chief of Starfleet, I hereby instate you to the rank of captain, with all the privileges and responsibilities therein. Congratulations and welcome back to the fold."

There were whoops, hollers, and claps.

The C-in-C handed the box to Kathryn and she took the few steps towards Chakotay.

She smiled as he watched her remove his Maquis pip. "Congratulations, _captain_ ," she teased a little.

"Thank you, Kathryn. This means so much to me."

She placed the Maquis pip in his hand and had her fingers linger as long as she could allow without suspicion.

"A keepsake for you."

"I don't need it anymore." Chakotay's dimples showed as he said, "It's your turn now."

She smirked and went back to standing beside him.

"Captain Kathryn Janeway."

The entire room became pin-drop silent and her heartbeat sounded loudly. She looked with her peripherals and realized it was United Federation of Planets President Zife who spoke.

Her heartbreak raced as she faced the audience. She saw many happy faces in front of her and she raised her chin a bit more at attention.

"On behalf of Starfleet Commander-in-Chief Fleet Admiral Shanthi, I hereby promote you to vice admiral, with all the privileges and responsibilities therein. In addition," the Bolian said.

Kathryn looked in confusion. In addition?

"Vice Admiral Janeway is presented with the Starfleet Extended Tour Ribbon. Congratulations, Vice Admiral Janeway."

The room exploded and roared with cheers and claps. Kathryn saw groups of people stand and clap. It went in waves, until the whole auditorium was standing. She was given a standing ovation.

Kathryn could feel her heart burst and she tried her best to hold her tears down. She briefly looked at Chakotay, who was smiling and clapping before she watched the approaching C-in-C.

Shanti added Kathryn's pip onto her collar and ribbon onto chest and said, "Your father would have been so proud."

Kathryn cleared her throat and said, "Thank you, sir."

The C-in-C went back to the podium and said, "Congratulations to you all. A news conference will be held in an hour. The conference will be strictly held to the allotted time. After all, there's a celebration tonight! Welcome home. Dismissed."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written 7/4-7/5/2020.
> 
> Yes, the ribbon is real according to Memory Alpha and isn't made up. LOL. She deserves one besides just a promotion.
> 
> We still have more to go! ☺ 
> 
> I don't own rights to Voyager.


	8. The Homecoming Ball

"Congratulations, admiral."

"I figured they would promote you. "

"Nice, ribbon! Shiny."

"So that's what one if those looks like in person."

"I'm happy for you, Kathryn."

Her bridge officers hugged and shook hands.

"Captain Chakotay," Tom said. "Weird to say."

"Better get used to it, Tom," Chakotay pursed his lips and put his arms behind his back.

"What do you mean?"

"Voyager needs a first officer."

Kathryn looked at Chakotay and said, "They offered you Voyager? She's going through a refit?"

"Yes. Admiral Montgomery told me."

Kathryn smiled and was relieved.

"What do you say, Tom?" Chakotay asked, "Could you handle it?"

"Yes, sir!" he said and they shook hands.

"What about you Harry? B'Elanna?"

"Yes, sir!" Harry piped.

"Of course. Someone has to keep you three out of trouble," B'Elanna replied and crossed her arms. "I'm sure the admiral would appreciate, it too," she looked at Kathryn.

"Congratulations Admiral Janeway and Captain Chakotay," Seven added with the EMH to the bunch.

"Congratulations, indeed," the Doctor said.

"Thank you, Seven, Doctor," Kathryn said. "Seven, you haven't accepted the consultant position at the Daystrom Institute?"

"I'm exploring possibilities with Starfleet Academy and Jupiter Station."

"Well, if all else fails, looks like Captain Chakotay can add you to his Voyager crew, too," Kathryn said and teased Chakotay with a smile.

They all chuckled.

...  
 **Hours later.**

Chakotay waited near the entrance to the ballroom. He tugged at his bowtie. It was crooked and he felt like it wasn't tied right. It felt fine before he left his quarters

"Can I assist, captain?" Seven said as she came around. He almost didn't recognize her. Her hair was down and she wore a simple formal shimmery charcoal gray and silver dress with capped sleeves.

"You can tie a bow tie?"

"Of course. May I?"

He raised his hands in a shrug and let them fall and slap onto his thighs. "Be my guest. I can't figure out the damn thing."

Seven undid the mess and he lifted his chin so and she started to work on it.

"After centuries we have done little to change the tuxedo. You would think the bowtie would have changed."

"Sometimes you don't mess with perfection or tradition. Something the Doctor told me."

"Seven, thanks for helping me with the holoprogram back on Voyager. I never got the chance to properly thank you. I meant to the other day but I had other things on my mind."

"You are welcome. I take it that she liked it?"

"She?"

"Admiral Janeway."

"How did you know?"

"The starchart that coincided with the different seasons. Only one spot on Earth would have that view."

"Oh. Yes, she liked it very much."

"Good. I approve of the relationship."

"Huh?"

He and Kathryn hadn't shared it with anyone else besides Gretchen, Phoebe, Tom, B'Elanna, and Harry.

"Between you and the admiral."

Feeling like a broken record, he said, "How-"

"I speculated and tested my theory. Your biological response to her name and subtle interactions earlier today gave you away."

"Am I that obvious?"

"No. Only to those who have been observant and close to the both of you. Plus, Tuvok also had his suspicions."

She finished the tie with a last tighten, looked him over and said, "There. Now you are ready for your _date_."

Chakotay blushed and said, "Thanks."

"You look very nice tonight. Did you have an escort to the ball, Seven?"

"Thank you. My Aunt Irene escorted me. She's over there fussing over Icheb."

Chakotay looked over and indeed, it did look like it. He chuckled. "Looks like he had no problems with the bowtie. It suits him well."

"There's the Doctor. I will go and say hello. Excuse me, captain."

"Go ahead. Plus, Seven? It's just Chakotay, okay?"

"Very well."

Seven walked away to chat with the Doctor, once again leaving him alone. Music could be heard outside of the glass door to the ballroom.

Chakotay became anxious once again in what felt like a penguin suit. He had offered to pick her up at her housing but Kathryn insisted she would meet him there at the entrance so that he wouldn't mess up her look. He looked at his polished shoes to make sure they still shone. He looked around the few people who were on the veranda entrance.

Then he saw her. Chakotay stared at the figure moving towards him with a smile on her face. She walked in a dark magenta taffeta dress. The bosom made it appear as if the fabric was weaved into the dress. The straps looked like a mix of taffeta and lace with crystals, showing off her bare arms as her matching shawl rested in the corners of elbows. Although her hair was short, it appeared to be up in a braided updo, revealing her delicate neck. She wore silver dangling earrings and necklace with a magenta-colored drop in the middle of it. He followed it down to the sweetheart-shaped fabric, giving a tease at her breasts.

Chakotay swallowed hard and took in a deep breath when he realized he had stopped breathing.

"Well, you look very handsome in your tux, Chakotay," she said.

He nodded, still dumbstruck by her beauty. Once he finally found his words he said, "You look so beautiful, Kathryn. It's a good thing we met here. I definitely wouldn't have let you leave if I picked you up."

Kathryn's smile widened and she turned around for him. Her dress straps plunged down her back and stopped at her mid-back. The fair skin of her shoulder blades were exposed to the air.

"As I said, we definitely wouldn't have made it here," he teased. He stuck out an arm and said, "Shall we go in?"

She took his arm and said, "We shall. It's getting cool out here."

They walked through the opened doors to the ballroom, which held a beautiful view of the sunset and of the bay.

They saw Tuvok and T'Pel and approached them.

"T'Pel, it's very nice to see you again," Kathryn greeted.

"Likewise, Kathryn. Congratulations, Admiral Janeway, on your promotion and commendation. Also, for bringing my husband back to me."

"You're welcome. I don't believe you have had the privilege of meeting my former first officer, Chakotay."

"Nice to meet you, ma'am."

"It is nice to meet you, Captain Chakotay. I witnessed you promotion as well. Congratulations to you as well."

"Thank you."

Tuvok asked, "Admiral, are you two in a relationship?"

She looked at Tuvok quizzically, to Chakotay, and said, "Yes. Did someone already tell you? I was going to tell you."

"No, I simply observed you both."

Kathryn rolled her eyes and Chakotay said, "So did Seven. She knows, too," Chakotay told her.

Guests were shuffling in as the welcome banquet and ball was about to officially start.

"We should find our seats," Tuvok said and they all agreed.

Kathryn whispered to Chakotay, "So how many does that make it?"

"Your family, Tom, B'Elanna, Harry, Seven, Tuvok, and now his T'Pel. Eight."

She nodded.

"Mom! Phoebe!" Kathryn saw that they were standing by a table and talking .

Gretchen said, "Katie! My dear, you look absolutely gorgeous." She gave Kathryn a hug.

"Yes, _admiral_ , you do," Phoebe teased and smiled, also hugging her.

"And who is this handsome young man?" Gretchen joked, "Well, you clean up very well, Chakotay," and gave him a hug.

"Thanks, Gretchen."

She leaned in and whispered to the both of them, "You make an adorable couple."

"Thanks, mom," Kathryn blushed.

...

Crew, families, and friends filled the hall. Everyone sat down, even some of the self-invited brass, who were a few tables down from the "bridge" tables that they automatically formed.

Admiral Paris stood in the middle of the dance floor with the voice amplifier and spoke to the crowd, "Welcome to the Voyager Homecoming Ball. We are happy to have you here tonight for some fun, mingling, and relaxation. Dinner will be served before the main dancing. However, the band will be playing throughout. So if you feel the need to dance, by all means, do. Enjoy."

There was some clapping and then the tables started to chat.

They reminisced about the past and caught up with what has happened the last few weeks to everyone since their return.

"Soooo Voyager. Would you still want me at ops, Chakotay?" Harry asked.

Chakotay chuckled.

"Seriously, Starfleet? We just came back, got promoted, and you're already ready to go?" B'elanna snarked.

Tom added, "Yeah, Harry, cool down. We're supposed to be relaxing."

"I haven't thought quite that far, Harry. We still have time to think about it," Chakotay said.

Kathryn held a taught smile and drank from her glass. She was happy that the ship would be under Chakotay's care and that many of the crew expressed their interest to stay together. Yet, it felt like a rush.

She looked around and saw Naomi sitting next to her father and mother in her periwinkle dress.

"I'm going to say hi to Naomi," she said to excuse herself from the conversation and walked over to her table.

"Hello, Naomi."

"Hi captain! Uhh... I mean admiral! You look really pretty tonight. "

Kathryn laughed and said, "Thank you. You look very nice as well. It doesn't matter tonight, Naomi. I'd actually prefer if you still called be captain tonight. 'Admiral' still is a bit strange."

"Thanks for letting me be your assistant."

"You're welcome. You were the best captain's assistant I've ever had. Did you get my present?"

"Oh, yes! How did you know I was accepted into the Starfleet track program?"

Kathryn had given her a Starfleet manual with an inscription she wrote. It was the words of advice her father gave her when she was accepted to Starfleet.

"Who do you think sent the recommendation?" She said matter-of-factly with a shining smile.

Naomi stood up from her chair and wrapped her in a hug. Kathryn returned it.

A male Ktarian said, "Thank you for taking her of my daughter. She loves you, captain."

"You must be Greskrendtregk. It's nice to meet you."

"As it is to meet you," he replied.

"How are you doing, Naomi? I know you were having a rough time when we arrived in Earth."

"Much better. My dad's nice," she looked at him and he smiled, "and I still contact Seven and Icheb each day.

"That's wonderful, Naomi. Well, I'll let you finish eating. See you later," she said and moved away from the table.

She ran into Admiral Paris and he said, "You look beautiful tonight, Katie."

"Thanks, Owen. I'm sure you say that to all the admirals," she teased.

He looked over at the brass tables and he shook his head, squinted, and said, "No, I don't think so..."

She laughed.

"Are you done eating? If so, would you favor me with a dance? No one has started dancing and Julia's talking your mother's ear off. I didn't know that was possible."

"Yes, I've finished eating. I would like to dance."

He gestured to the dance floor and they walked on. Owen lifted his hands in position and they danced.

"How have you been today?" He asked.

"Great. Fine. It's just all so surreal."

"I remember when I was promoted to admiral. I was very excited because I had worked for it my entire life. But then, at the same time, I was a bit down."

Kathryn was now listening intently.

"You were?" She asked.

"Yes. It felt like I was losing something at the same time. It took me awhile to figure it out. Then my mentor told me something that explained it all."

"What did they say?"

"He told me that although the crew are also your colleagues, that as a captain, you are very protective of them. He said that I was their protector, whether or not they really saw me as one, that I would think of myself as their protector, not just their captain. He told me that the ship was like one of my children and that it was like you were giving up on your children. But he said that children grow up and have to leave the nest. But that's okay, since you left your child in good hands. Plus, you can visit whenever you like."

She smiled.

"Am I right that you were feeling the same way?" He asked.

"Yes, I was. I felt a little selfish about it. I thought I was the only one."

Owen nodded, "It happens to all admirals. In your case, though, it's probably a bit more due to your special circumstances with your crew and your ship."

She nodded, "I also thought if I became admiral that you would've been long retired already."

He chuckled and said, "Oh, yeah. You're one of the young'ins!"

She laughed and felt like a weight had been lifted from her.

"Speaking of which, you have a pair of eyes glued on you, admiral," he said as they moved.

"A lot of people are looking at us," she said.

"Yes, but Captain Chakotay's are transfixed on you."

She blushed.

"Mmm," Owen said. "I see."

"You see what?"

"Nothing," he said with a smile and a wink. "It's just that it would be nice to see you have a family of your own. I know I'm not Edward, and even though I'm your mentor, and our families have become great friends, you've become sort of a daughter to me."

She felt emotional and smiled as her lips trembled a little.

"So I'll say this. I've seen those eyes before. Dance with the man when he asks you, which I think will be soon."

"Okay," she said, not giving anything else away.

"Thanks, Owen. I feel a lot better," she said.

"Good," he said with a nod.

They danced without talking until the end of the song.

When the song ended, a familiar voice said, "May I have this next dance?"

Owen gave a knowing smirk at her and she said, "Of course."

Owen walked off the bring his own wife to the dance floor and soon all the Paris couples were on the dance floor, including others.

He put his hand on her mid-back and his warm hands on hers.

She wanted to hold him close, maybe wrap her hands around his neck, but she knew she couldn't with their relationship somewhat under wraps.

"I never thought I would see you in a tuxedo, Chakotay, but now that I have, I think it should be standard uniform," she teased.

"Mmm only if that dress does, too," his rich voice said.

She smiled and said, "Easy, tiger."

"I think everyone's going to dance with you tonight," Chakotay said.

Kathryn chuckled and said, "Hopefully not everyone. Me feet would be too sore in these heels."

"Did the talk on the Voyager crew assignments make you uncomfortable?" He asked.

She replied, "What makes you say that?"

"You hardly spoke a word at that point in the conversation and then broke off."

She shook her head and said unconvincingly, "You should have your spotlight. I didn't want to interfere."

Chakotay looked through her eyes and said, "I am not snatching Voyager away from you."

"I know that now. Admiral Paris just helped me realize that. It wasn't that. Okay, maybe it was part of it. It was just...it was a weird feeling. Like...," she shook her head and said, "never mind."

He said, "Tell me."

Kathryn looked over his shoulder at the people at the tables and the people dancing. She shook her head again, not looking at his eyes.

"Kathryn?"

"Like you were soon going to take off on Voyager and..."

"And what?'

"Then you'll get lost in an undiscovered quadrant and I'll gave to spend years searching for you."

Chakotay gave a soft smile and said, "Look at me."

She did look at him and saw the kindness and love in his eyes.

"I'm not taking off like a bat out of hell anytime soon. The odds that we'll get stuck in a similar situation on Voyager is low. Anyways, you found me once already. You're already once of the best bounty hunters in the Alpha Quadrant," he joked.

She chuckled.

"Okay?" Chakotay said.

"Okay," she responded.

"Let's enjoy our dance," he said and they glided on the floor.

...

Chakotay was over by the bar watching her dance. He had just danced with B'Elanna, Phoebe, Naomi, Seven, Gretchen, and Samantha over the last hour and he had been taking a breather the last ten minutes or so. Once everyone realized that he could dance, his dance card slowly increased. However, his wasn't as close to Kathryn's. 

"I didn't know you could dance, Chakotay," Tom said, drinking his alcoholic beverage.

"I am a quiet man of many talents, Mr. Paris."

"She looks great, doesn't she?"

"She does."

Tom gave him a slap on the shoulder. "Who would've guessed? Well, I'm happy for you, man."

"Thanks, Tom," Chakotay said as he drank his wine.

Tom's eyes squinted a little at the dancing figures and said, "Is that Admiral Olsen?"

"I guess so. I don't know all the names of the captains and admirals here tonight."

Chakotay saw Olsen's hand slide down a little further down Kathryn's back than he liked. She had fixed Olsen's hand earlier and he could tell she was getting annoyed.

Tom said, "Looks like-"

"Yeah," Chakotay cut him off and handed Tom the empty wine glass he had just downed and started walking over to the dance floor. When he reached them, Kathryn stifled her smile of relief and as if expecting him, she intently said, "Did you get the report?"

"Yes," he said, going along with the façade.

Kathryn said to her hands dance partner, "Thank you for the...interesting dance. Excuse me, I need to deal with this."

Olsen nodded and Kathryn and Chakotay walked away. As soon as they went through the doors she said, "Thanks. Wow."

He chuckled and said, "You're welcome."

"He may be human but sure does have enough tentacles," Kathryn said.

Chakotay said, "We'll have to keep up the act now. How about we walk a bit?"

"Sure," she said. "I need a break."

He held his arm out and they walked down the steps into the starry night.

"Beautiful night," she said.

"It is," he said.

She shivered a little at the cool air. Chakotay took off his jacket and wrapped it over her shoulders.

"Thanks," she said, feeling immediately warmer. The jacket even smelled like him.

"Thank you. I've kept it on just to do that," he joked.

"No, you didn't!" She squealed in her laugh.

"You sure?" His eyes twinkled with the walkway lights.

She smirked as she once again took hold of his arm.

They walked for awhile and walked into a more secluded path in a rose garden.

"It was nice to see Boothby again during our tour," Kathryn said. "It's such a shame that most of the gardens were destroyed in the Breen attack. I'm glad this one survived."

Chakotay smiled and said, "Yes. Especially when he named a new rose after you."

"That, too," she said proudfully.

"How many varieties are there anyways? There must be hundreds."

"Must be," she said.

"But you're one-of-a-kind," he said.

She blushed as she looked among the flowers and said, "You flaterer."

"No, it's the truth," he said. Then his arm started to move under her hand. She looked over from the flowers to where his arm was.

Or where it was supposed to be.

"Kathryn Elizabeth Janeway. You _are_ one-of-a kind. I love you with every fiber of my being. I want to live my whole life with you. Will you honor me by becoming my wife?" He said, kneeling with a ring in his hand.

Her hand was clasped a mouth over her mouth. She was trembling and felt like her knees would give weigh. She tried to answer but her words failed her. Kathryn nodded and was finally able to say, "Yes."

He slid the ring onto her finger and stood up and embraced her in passionate kisses.

"I love you, Kathryn."

"I love you, too Chakotay."

Her wrists hung around his neck as he held her waist.

"I'm the happiest man right now," he cried. "I had this whole amazing speech planned and then my mind blanked. I don't remember what I just said except for the most important part."

She chuckled in her teary eyes and said, "Me, neither."

"I'm glad you replied quickly. It's not exactly the most comfortable spot to kneel on," Chakotay said, referring to the gravel.

"Quickly? I thought it was ages. I couldn't speak and I was afraid I lost my voice," she said with a smile.

They kissed again and he said, "There's a story behind the ring."

She moved her hand down from his neck and into their view.

"An ancient legend?" She asked with a slight tease.

"Not this time. It _is_ the story," he smiled and winked. He pointed the the edge of the ring and said, "Its sides are made up of stones I collected at the different planets we stopped at in the Delta Quadrant. The main stone on the top is from New Earth."

The stones were of various colors and clearness.The one from New Earth looked very similar to diamond but when it was moved, its almost had an opal or moonstone glisten to it.

"Oh, Chakotay," she said.

"I'm sure you recognize the rest."

She looked at the silver band and what surrounded the main stone.

"They're hands you'd see on a Irish Claddagh ring."

He nodded.

"It's lovely, Chakotay. I love it."

"I'm glad."

"When did you have the time?"

He smiled and said, "Years. I just needed the size of your finger."

Kathryn's face fell in shock at the realization and she hugged him fiercely.

They held each other for a long time and she said, pressed against his chest, "So, how are we going to break the news?"

...

They walked back to the ballroom but this time with her hands in his. As they got to the steps, she returned his jacket to him and he put it back in.

"Are you ready?"

"Always."

They walked in a bit apart. She hid the ring on her hand behind her back.

Tuvok said, "Admiral Janeway. Captain. You were gone for awhile. I almost called for a search."

"I'm perfectly fine, Tuvok. We went for a walk. Admiral Olsen was too clingy and I needed a break from the crowd."

"Yes, I observed....and understand. I saw some of your so-called, 'windbags'.'

She laughed and said to T'Pel, "Make sure your husband doesn't say that too close to the other admirals."

If she could smile, T'Pel was close to it.

"Yes, admiral," she said.

Kathryn towards Chakotay, who had already accessed the voice amplifier, and stopped when she edged the dance floor to the side.

"Excuse the interruption, but I have an important announcement to make."

The ballroom reduced its conversations to just a few.

"Today has been filled with much excitement. Tonight is not an exception. I will be adding to that excitement. Because, you see, there is another promotion, well, actually promotions, of sorts."

Curious whispers started to follow the air.

"I have been promoted to be the soon-to-be husband of a wonderful woman who you all know," he gestured to Kathryn, who joined the stage next to him and gave him a kiss on the cheek and placed her left hand on his chest to show the ring.

"We're getting married, in case you didn't get it."

They were laughs and then cheers, claps, and wolf-whistles. They smiled and they heard chants for a kiss among the bridge crew.

Chakotay dipped her, wrapped his hand around the small of her waist, and kissed her on her lips. He lifted her back up with a smile and they walked off the dance floor towards her mom.

Gretchen opened her arms in a wide hug around Kathryn and pulled her close. "I'm so happy for you, Katie."

She moved over to Chakotay as Phoebe took her place and hugged her sister and said, "Congratulations!"

"My future son-in-law! Oh! I've been waiting all night!" Gretchen said as she hugged Chakotay.

Kathryn said after hugging Phoebe, "Wait. You knew he was going to propose?"

"Of course! He asked me permission for your hand days ago. Chakotay's such a traditional romantic."

She smirked at him and he shrugged.

One-by-one, people offered their congratulations.

"Well, I didn't expect that you would would jump on my words so quickly, Katie, but congratulations," Owen hugged her and stuck out a hand to Chakotay. "Congratulations to you as well. How nervous were you?"

"Very, sir. I forgot my speech," he chuckled.

"I did, too. Obviously, whatever we said were the right words from the heart." He looked over at Julia, who was congratulating Kathryn.

"Congrats, Chakotay. Welcome to the club. You're a brave man," Tom joked.

"Congratulations," Harry said.

"So will it be the future Mr. Chakotay and Mrs. Chakotay? Mr. and Mrs. Janeway? Janeway-Chakotay? Chakotay-Janeway?" B'Elanna joked when the couple and their close friends were all that's left.

Tuvok said, "They could keep their names as they are. Their names will not change their marital status."

"Thanks, Tuvok," Chakotay said.

...

The night went on. They had dessert, danced some more, but unhindered this time. The look on Olsen's face was priceless as held herself to Chakotay's body as they danced.

By the time they reached Kathryn's door, it sure felt like a long day. The first thing she did was take off her heels.

"Ohh, that feels so much better," she sighed as her feet readjusted to the floor.

She put her shawl and purse on the nearby hook with his jacket.

He smiled and and loosened his bowtie amd shirt while he followed her as she walked with her heels in hand to the bedroom.

Once she put her heels down he let his fingers trace down the naked back on her dress. She let out a sigh and his hands trailed beneath the dress and felt her breasts from behind. Kathryn rolled her head back and said, "I'm not even undressed yet and you make me feel naked already."

"I can fix that," he said in a musky voice .

He lowered the zipper slowly and he could see the goosebumps raising in her skin. Chakotay once again slipped his hands from behind her to her breasts and he laid kisses on her left shoulder and then her right. Kathryn turned around and loosened the buttons of his shirt. She moved the shirt off of him slowly until it fell to the floor. He took off his shoes and socks and out them aside. She then undid his belt and unzipped his pants. He turned her around and loosened the braided updo, putting the pins on the dresser. Chakotay kissed her neck as he moved one strap off her shoulder.

"Chakotay?"

"Yes, my love?"

She turned around to face him. Her eyes were bluer tonight than he could ever remember.

"I've been thinking. I don't want to wait too long to get married. I've been engaged before."

He smiled, "Okay."

"But I want your sister to be able to be here, too. I also know if we don't have a ceremony my mother and sister will never let me hear the end of it if we eloped."

He nodded and chuckled.

"Same with my sister."

She smiled and he lifted her chin to kiss her. He continued to move the other strap and the dress shrugged down and she stepped out of it.

He took off his pants and underwear as she laid her dress on a chair. Chakotay went behind her and saw that she only had a black thong left. As she turned towards him and noticed that he was already completely naked. Kathryn removed her thong and placed her bare chest against his. She kissed his chest and felt his hardness.

He gasped at the touch that he did not see and let out a moan. He closed his eyes as she continued. It felt good. Then it was feeling a bit too good.

"Kathryn, you need to get on the bed now. I need to make love to you," he barely managed in a mix of a whisper and a low growl.

She took his hand, headed to the bed, and laid down. Chakotay moved her onto her side and laid on his side behind her. He lifted her top leg over his and she scooted back towards him. With a guide of his hand, he entered her front from behind. He tilted Kathryn towards him at an angle so that they could she each other while they spooned. Chakotay knew it had been a long day and this would probably be the best position because of it.

"Just to let you know, I don't think I'll last long."

She nodded.

His arm crossed her chest and held her close as he began to thrust. They kissed as their bodies moved together. His tan body mixed with her alabaster skin. He knew he definitely wasn't going to last long so his hand trailed down down between her thighs and he stroked and kneaded her with his fingers. Chakotay saw Kathryn's breasts rise and fall and as he saw her building up.

"Chakotay!" She called out.

Her eyes closed as her climax over take her at the same time he did.

"Kathryn!"

He slid out and held her tightly as they overcame the flood of hormones in their bodies. As they did, they quickly fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written 7/5-7/8/2020.
> 
> I don't own rights to Voyager.
> 
> Chapter 9 is already in progress!


	9. Dorvan V

The next morning,after the engagement, she woke up before he did. Kathryn felt his strong arm around her like a blanket. She brushed the evidence of her sleep from her eyes. Unfortunately, she realized she still had makeup on her face. Then she noticed the sparkle on her hand. She looked at it and smiled. She was going to marry Chakotay.

She escaped to the restroom to clean up and returned back to her postion under his wing. The movement had woken him up and he looked over to see if she was awake.

"Good morning, my future wife," he said.

She smiled and said, "Hello, yourself, future husband."

Chakotay said, "I like the sound of that."

"I'm so glad we decided to go to Dorvan Five tomorrow rather than today," she said. "A promotion. A ribbon. A news conference. A ball. An engagement. I need to recover from yesterday!" She exasperated.

He grinned and said, "Indeed. Are you nervous? Excited?"

"Nervous...not really. Excited...yes. it's sort of like...a new mission...but it's our future."

He laughed and said, "No. About seeing my sister."

"Oh," she said in embarrassment.

Chakotay laughed even more and said, "No, you had it right the first time. I'm just messing with you."

Kathryn gave him a little pinch.

"Ow!" He said and feigned more pain than it was.

"Well, anyways, I'm excited to meet your sister as well. Maybe a little anxious when it comes to the customs of your tribe."

"It's been a long time for me, too. It will be interesting to see the changes made there."

Her stomach grumbled and his returned his grumble.

"I guess we should get up," she said as she sat up in bed before he pulled her back down.

They were dressed in their casual long-sleeves, sweaters, and slacks while they ate breakfast. She sipped her fresh coffee and sighed in comfort.

"Kathryn?" Chakotay asked.

"Yes?" She said as she took another sip of her coffee.

"I don't want to seem like I'm pushing anything on you."

"I don't think you are. Why would you think that?"

"I mean...to ask you..."

"What?" She inquired, getting a little nervous at his hesitancy.

Chakotay cleared his throat and said, "Do you...I was thinking..."

Kathryn placed a hand on his and said, "Say what's on your mind."

"Do you think we should get a new place of our own when we get married?"

Blinking, she replied, "Uh, well, there are Starfleet-"

"Not in Starfleet housing. A house of our own relatively close by, maybe, or transporter range."

Everything had been just going along and she just unpacked a week ago into her large apartment.

"Oh, I didn't think about that yet. I mean, we just unpacked. I think we can take a look at some houses."

He nodded and said, "Which brings me to another topic. I know... you've talked about wanting children in the past and so have I. You said the other day that we weren't spring chickens and I know that even in this day and age, pregnancies have less complications when you are younger...I mean..."

Chakotay's jaw clenched and she could tell he was getting flustered and annoyed with himself.

"I understand. You mean about when we should actually start having children."

"Yes. I know it would come up whether it was between us or someone else."

She nodded.

He continued, "And I know we have our positions but I would rather be a father than a captain."

Her eyes started to water at that.

Chakotay's hand covered hers, making a hand sandwich. "Oh, Kathryn. Sweetheart. I don't mean to upset you."

She shook her head and said, "You're not."

"What are you thinking?" He said a bit curiously.

"You will make a great father."

He smiled softly.

"I do want to have children but we have only been a romantic couple for weeks. Yes, friends for years, but not like..."

"Not like we've really had our own downtime away from Starfleet as a couple."

She smiled at him reading her thoughts and nodded.

"We can try as soon as we're married. Which will be soon, remember? I was thinking Valentine's Day or if that's too soon for our guests, March. Before the three months are over and everyone goes to far."

He grinned, walked around the table, and lifted her hands up to stand from her chair.

Chakotay wrapped her in arms and cried, "You have made me the luckiest man. I will help find us a home. If we can't, I'll build one. I want to be a husband and a father to your children, our children, and have a place for our family."

"I love you so much, Chakotay. It sounds wonderful."

...

They held hands on the shuttle. This time neither of them had to pilot. To keep them busy on the trip, they talked about the wedding. Who to invite, where to have it, etc.

"Best man?"

"Tom or Tuvok. My Maquis betrayers."

She laughed hard and said, "Isn't that funny how that has happened?"

"Yeah. Harry and B'Elanna in the party as well."

"Ohhhh. I wanted B'Elanna to be on mine," she said with a smile.

"She's been my friend longer," he chuckled.

"Well, then I'll take your sister, Seven, and Sam."

"The Maid of Honor?"

"My sister, Phoebe. Naomi as the flower girl."

"Of course."

"What kind of wedding, Chakotay?"

"One without uniforms."

She laughed and joked, "So, Betazoid style?"

"Gods, no!" He burst out laughing.

Kathryn said, "No uniforms. Check. Location..."

She pondered. It would be romantic to be on Voyager where they first met but there's no possible way with its refit. Maybe Indiana?

Chakotay said, "How about the Janeway home?"

"I was just thinking the same thing! We might have have a tent with the size and the temperature. Are there any cultural rituals from your tribe you want to incorporate?"

"Well, actually, it's more about pre- wedding rituals and somethings of mine that Sekaya has that I would like to incorporate."

...

As Kathryn and Chakotay walked through the village she could feel the stares and whispers in their direction as they approached a house.

He said, "Don't be anxious."

'Like that helps,' she thought as she gripped the strap of her luggage on her arm.

"Thanks," she said sarcastically.

"You're just so beautiful you're attracting everyone," he said.

She rolled her eyes at him.

They approached a house that seemed to have been made by local earth that she had seen earlier.

Chakotay knocked on the door as Kathryn squirmed with her hands in his. He looked down to give her a reassuring smile when the door opened.

"Brother!" A woman who looked strikingly similar to Chakotay exclaimed and flung her arms around him.

"Hi, Sekaya," he said with a chuckle as they embraced.

"I have missed you so much," she said, still holding on to him.

"I've missed you, too."

They released their hug and Chakotay said, "Sekaya, I'd like to introduce you to Kathryn Janeway, my fiancé."

"Fiancé! Chakotay! I told you to bring the woman who caught your eye but I didn't say you had to rush anything on my behalf!" She laughed with excitement. Sekaya then looked at Kathryn and hugged her.

"Nice to meet you, Kathryn. I'm glad you'll make my brother an honest man," she said and let go. "Come inside, we have a lot to talk about!"

They went through the open door before Sekaya closed it behind them.

"Let me show you around so that way you can put your things down."

She led them up a flight of stairs and showed them the bedrooms.

"I, uh, prepared both rooms but I have a feeling you'll only need one. I don't mind," she said to them.

The couple blushed and they nodded.

"Well, okay, then," she smiled. "I'll let you clean up a bit from your journey and you can join me downstairs when you're ready."

"Thanks, Sekaya," Chakotay said and she retreated with a gleam in he eye.

After ten minutes they made their way downstairs.

"Would you like something to eat?"

It was late afternoon.

Kathryn said, "Now that you mention it, food sounds good."

"It does," Chakotay said.

"Do you have any food restrictions, Kathryn?"

"No. Whatever you plan on making will be fine. Thank you."

"Go ahead and have a seat at the island. That way we can talk, still."

They pulled up some stools and sat down as Sekaya pulled out some fresh ingredients.

"Soooo. You're the woman who was hunting down balmy brother while he was in the Maquis, if memory serves me right," Sekaya said as she started chopping.

"Guilty," Kathryn replied with a smile.

"Mmmm. I bet my brother liked the chase," she teased.

"Sekky," Chakotay said his sister's nickname, "it wasn't like that."

"So did the attraction start immediately when you went onto her ship?" She asked.

Chakotay was turning red and said, "I was attracted to her but I was, at the time, with someone, and she had a fianceé on Earth."

"It looks like both didn't turn out, huh?" She said to nobody in particular as she placed what looked like a kind of flatbread on the stove and placed the ingredients on it.

"No," Kathryn said.

Sekaya saw the look on her face as well as Chakotay's and thought that those were stories for another time.

"So, tell me when it became a relationship between you two. Don't skip any details!"

...

Awhile later...

"You two were on a planet alone for three months? Oooh. Go on," she said.

They talked how they would have dinners on the ship. They talked about the holodeck program.

"That's so sweet."

They talked about their stay at the Janeways.

By the time they talked about the recent proposal, they had already long finished their meal and were sitting in chairs in the backyard.

"May I?" Sekaya indicated towards the ring.

Kathryn showed it to her on he hand.

Sekaya looked at Chakotay and said, "You said you designed it?"

He nodded shyly.

"It's beautiful."

They said their thanks.

"How has it been, Sekaya?" Chakotay asked.

"Well, there have been some improvements to the village in the last seven years, but it's not too much different since you've been here. There are some disagreements with the Cadassians still but they pretty much leave us alone after the Dominion War. They felt like they had to tread carefully when they switched back to ally with the Federation."

She shrugged and sighed. "I'm still a spiritual advisor. I've also been helping resettlements with the resources available. It's not the easiest job but it is fulfilling. Oh, don't forget, the tribe is having a celebration dinner tonight."

She looked over at Kathryn and said, "You'll be my guests at the dinner."

Chakotay braced his arms on his legs and said seriously, "That brings up something I wanted to talk to you about. I would like, and so would Kathryn, to go through the prenuptial rituals. We also want to do the blanket ceremony at the wedding."

"Are you sure?" She asked Kathryn and she nodded.

A frown fell on Sekaya's face and she leaned back in her chair with her arms on it. "That may not be easy for several reasons. Unfortunately, most have to do with your role, Kathryn."

Kathryn listened intently and she continued.

"For one thing, you are not a member of the tribe. Another is...Starfleet. Although Chakotay's a captain now, you are now an admiral and embody all of Starfleet in the eyes of many. The relationship is lukewarm with Starfleet. Besides that, it is uncommon, but not necessarily unheard of, not to have the wedding ceremony as well with the tribe after the rituals."

Kathryn looked slightly downwards with disappointment while Chakotay pressed on.

"Would it help if you also performed the blanket ceremony on Earth at the wedding?"

"I'll do that for you at your wedding. It may give some weigh to your requests. I'll talk to the council."

"Thank you," they said.

...

They walked towards the structure that reminded Kathryn of longhouse but more oblong on shape.

She must have been tightly holding Chakotay's hand because he gave her hand a squeeze and rubbed his thumb across her hand.

Once they followed Sekaya inside, people started to greet Chakotay and practically split him away in conversation. Kathryn looked at the crowd. She was glad that she wasn't wearing her Starfleet uniform since she was already getting enough awkward looks. She gulped as some of the tribal members approached her and asked her questions.

"My name is....what is yours?"

"Whose guest are you?"

"You know Chakotay?"

"What do you do?"

"You're Starfleet?"

"The Cardassians..."

"The Dominion War..."

She answered their questions as gracefully as she would with first contact. However, she could feel herself straining. Although there was appreciation for her Voyager travel back to the Alpha Quadrant, once people knew who she was or her position, she could feel the heaviness in the room when Starfleet was mentioned.

Everyone was called to sit down to eat and she sat between Chakotay and Sekaya. She could feel Chakotay's eyes on her but she pretended to not notice.

Admiral Janeway could handle it. However, the Kathryn side of her felt more vulnerable.

One of the tribe's elders, presumably the chief, said, "Our lost son, Chakotay, son of Kolopak, has returned. He also brought a guest with him, his future bride, Kathryn Janeway. We welcome them as they dine with us tonight."

They ate and continued to answer questions about their journey through the Delta Quadrant. The questions were more general rather than the more personal questions she was asked before the meal.

There was an elder woman of about eighty with mostly white hair with some gray streaks. From across the room she beckoned towards Kathryn with her hand. Kathryn put her hand towards herself to clarify it was actually her that she wanted. She nodded. She stood up and walked around and sat down next the old woman.

"You wanted to see me?"

The woman didn't say anything but slowly took Kathryn's hands into hers. She gazed upon her face as if searching for something. Another woman nearby said to Kathryn, "My great-grandmother doesn't speak, in case you were wondering."

She looked at Kathryn as if admiring her and had smiling eyes. Kathryn felt comforted even though she didn't know what she wanted. The great-grandmother then gently placed her palm her face and smiled. Kathryn smiled back.

"She likes you," the grat-grandaughter said.

"Good. I like her, too," Kathryn said.

...

After the meal was over, Sekaya said outside of the structure, "Now the tribal council will meet. I'll present your case. If you want to wait outside you may unless you wish to go the house."

"We'll stay outside," Chakotay said.

His sister nodded and went back inside.

Chakotay walked with her around the perimeter. She hung her head as they walked in silence until she broke it.

"They don't like me," she said somberly, "Well, except for the great-grandmother."

"That's ridiculous. It's just because of lingering feelings about the wars and relocations. It's about Starfleet, not you," he said.

That didn't make her feel much better.

"They're going to say no," she said. "I don't blame them. They don't know me. I'm not part of the tribe."

"You don't know that."

"Chakotay. I saw their faces. I've seen those looks before and so have you."

He didn't respond. After what felt like a long time, Sekaya came outside.

"Well?" Chakotay said.

"They said 'no'," Sekaya said.

A frustrated Chakotay walked past his sister and towards the structure

"If you don't mind, I'm going back to the house. I'm pretty tired," Kathryn said.

Sekaya nodded and ran to catch up with her brother inside the structure.

"Explain. I want to here it from you. Why won't you let us go through the traditional ceremonies?" Chakotay sternly said as he held down his simmer in front of the council of elders.

...

Kathryn made it to the house. She wasn't going to interfere in what was clearly a family and tribal matter and make things worse. Not only that but she was exhausted.

...

Chakotay returned home with his sister hoping that they won a small victory. He went to their room and found Kathryn fully clothed and asleep on the bed. He sighed and laid down next to her. He gave Kathryn a kiss on the cheek and turned off the light.

...

Kathryn awoke on her back and felt Chakotay's arm across her. She realized she was still in yesterday's clothes. She had only meant to lay down awhile until they cam back but she must have been truly drained. Shuttle lagged, as it were. She looked over at Chakotay, who was still asleep. Then she decided to stare at the ceiling. She didn't know much of what to expect when she came to Dorvan V. Chakotay's sister was nice but even she held a hidden contempt for Starfleet that Kathryn could see through. She remembered the days when she was very little and asked her daddy to put his uniform jacket and pips on her...

_"Alright, golden bird. You can't leave the room with them on and only while I'm here. They're very special."_

_He put the jacket around her, zipped up the jacket, and tried to fasten the belt._

_"Why is it so special, daddy?"_

_He managed to loosely tie it._

_"It's because it's a Starfleet uniform, sweetie. It represents a lot of good things. It represents discovery. It represents peace. It represents humanity."_

_"Humanity?"_

_"Yes. Things like our compassion and our faith in each other."_

_"Oh," she said._

_"It represents the best of who we are and who we want to be."_

_He moved her in front of the floor- length mirror of her parent's room and stood kneeled down by her. Little Kathryn looked in the mirror. The uniform jacket ate her alive but she was beaming. She wanted to be in Starfleet just like her daddy._

She felt the hot tears roll down her cheek as she reflected on the treasured memory. Every time she was promoted she thought about it. But then when she thought about the times when Starfleet slipped like for the colonies such as on Dorvan V.

_"...who we want to be."_

"Kathryn? Why are you crying?" Chakotay had obviously woken up.

"Nothing. It's nothing," she said as she wiped her eyes and moved to get up but his arm was still across her.

He held her firmly and said, "It's not nothing."

"It was just a very old memory of when I was little."

"Good? Bad?"

"Good."

"What was it about?"

"I was young. Probably six or seven years old. I asked if I could try on my father's uniform. He put it on me and said it was special. I asked him what made it so special. He told me what it represented to him. What Starfleet represented to him. I wanted that, too...and then I am reminded of where Starfleet failed...like with your tribe...and your father. "

"Ahh."

Her tears started to silently run once more as she continued to look at the ceiling.

"I want to respect your traditions. Especially since I know you only really got into them because of Kolopak. But I'm ruining it because of Starfleet."

"You may have a chance," he said.

She rolled to face him and said, "What?"

"The council said if you pass the process to become a member of the tribe they'll allow us to do the prenuptial ceremonies."

"A tribal membership process?" She turned on her side to look at him. "How does that work?"

"You basically prove your character and worthiness."

"That's not very clear."

"It's more about tribal rituals and spirituality. You don't have to do it."

She said in a firm tone, " _Chakotay_. If that was the case you wouldn't have marched back in if it wasn't that important."

"No, I...I just wanted to hear it from them. I wanted them to tell it to my face."

"I'll do it."

"You don't even know-"

"I don't care. I need to do this. What made them offer a chance at tribal membership?" She asked curiously.

"Well, usually you need a sponsor who either is in the leadership council or in the council of elders in addition to a regular member."

"So someone decided to sponsor me on one of the councils?"

Chakotay nodded and said, "You know that old woman who wanted to see you?"

"Yes. "

"That's Wise Owl. She's sort of the soothsayer for the tribe, if you will, and has a great influence in the elder council. She took a great liking to you. She spoke to them on your behalf and agreed to sponsor you and even help with the pre-marital ceremonies once you become a member. "

Kathryn furrowed her brows and said, "She spoke? Her great- granddaughter told me she couldn't speak."

Chakotay smiled and said, "She may have been exaggerating but not by much. She only speaks if she thinks it's important but she listens and notices everything."

Kathryn smiled and said, "When her great-granddaughter told me that Wise Owl liked me, I said I liked her back."

"I guess she really did like you. She was pretty adamant. The leadership council was sweating like a group of young boys."

She chuckled and he gave her a kiss on the forehead.

"Let's shower and get up. We've got work to do," he said.

...

Over the week, Kathryn received lessons from Chakotay, Sekaya, and some members from the council. They included medicine, cultural traditions, history, spirituality and tribal law. They even had her go through a spirit walk, which reminded her of the time she had gone to the Nachani monastery trials to save Kes.

Now, she was waiting outside waiting for final judgment.

"Stop," Chakotay said.

"Stop what?" She replied.

"Stop pacing," he said.

Kathryn said flatly, "I feel like I'm waiting for results of my final exams from the Academy."

Chakotay laughed.

Someone came out of the structure and, "We're ready for you, Kathryn. Chakotay, you may come in if you wish."

They both went inside in front of the leadership council with her sponsor, Wise Owl.

The main leader, Gray Stone, spoke.

"Kathryn Janeway, daughter of Edward, you are now a member of our tribe. We accept you as our daughter."

Kathryn smiled and said, "Thank you. I am honored."

"Now, you and Chakotay may begin the prenuptial ceremonies. Do you wish to start today?"

They looked at each other and nodded.

"These rituals last several days as well. There are several purposes of these rituals. One is to bond with your fellow kinsman in the tribe with questions and advice. The other is to understand your future role as husband and wife to one another. Also, to understand and communicate with your partner better. Overall, these rituals are make your bond and your marriage stronger. Kathryn, Wise Owl and Sekaya will guide you in your rituals. Chakotay, Blue Sky and I will guide yours."

...

Chakotay had not been in the sweat lodge in a very long time. Now it felt like a low-tech sauna filled with men.

"Chakotay, you wish to marry Kathryn, daughter of Edward?'

"Yes."

"Why?" The tone was not condescending. It was asking as part of the ritual.

"She's kind, smart, funny, intelligent, beautiful, decisive, dedicated, and strong. She makes me feel like I can do anything. She makes me feel at peace."

"Have you two fought each other?"

"Yes, we have fought before. It usually was concerning our job. We haven't really fought as a couple yet."

"How have you resolved fights with Kathryn?"

"Usually one of us sees the big picture and the other focuses on the details. We end up working on a solution together."

"That is good communication."  
...

"How long have you been together?"

Kathryn replied, "A month now, officially. We've known each other for seven years. We've been attracted to each other for years, especially the last three."

"Have you joined bodies?"

Kathryn wasn't quite sure what one of the women meant as they sat it the female-only structure.

"Uh..."

"She means if you've been intimate. Had sex," another said.

"Oh, uh, yes," she blushed and all of the women giggled.

"Understandable. He is handsome," said an older woman.

"Do you please each other in bed?"

"Yes, I would say so."

More giggling.

Kathryn felt embarrassed saying this with Sekaya there but she seemed unfazed. She told her before it began that there were personal questions and to not hold back on her account. But, she was reacting just as all the other women were. It felt like bachelorette gathering even though it wasn't just bachelorette there.

Someone said, "Good. Intimacy, especially balanced intimacy, is important in a strong marriage."

Another chimed, "Especially when it comes to babies."

The women nodded.

"Have you two talked about children? Do you want children?"

"We have. Yes, we want to have children."

"Do you think you'll be a good mother?"

"Yes, I hope I will be. I will do my best for them."

"Do you think Chakotay will be a good father?"

"Absolutely."

"Do you believe you'll be a good wife to Chakotay?"

"Yes."

"Remember that husbands and children both need love. Although we have emotional bonds to our children, one love is not greater than the other. They are different kinds of love: a maternal and a romantic love, and both must be nurtured. If you neglect one, you neglect them both."

...

Only on the last day of the rituals were they allowed to be together surrounded by the others.

They held each other's hands as they met their spirit animals. Once they finished, they had one more step.

It was a trust exercise.

"Now, for the bonding. Each of you will tattoo the other with the tribal symbol. It is to be placed on right shoulderblade."

While they were still apart on their own gender groups they were given practice time. It was explained that it was a reminder that marriage is a permanent event not to be taken likely.

Kathryn held the pen-like tool in her hand with nearby ink to dip it into. He took off his shirt and she placed the stencil on his skin.

"Gosh, I'm nervous. I hope I don't stab you," she said to Chakotay.

"It's alright. Just control your breathing."

Easier said than done with the whole village watching. She did it and let out a sigh in big relief.

"You didn't even flinch!" She whispered as she placed the liquid sealer and antibacterial on his new tattoo.

Chakotay just smiled and said, "Turn around. It's your turn."

Kathryn was trying her best not to shake. She knew it hurt. The tribe didn't use pain relief unless you were a child. She slowly took off her shirt and held it against her chest.

"Ready?" He asked.

"Ready than I'll ever be," she said.

Chakotay started and she could feel the punctures gliding on her skin. She clutched to her shirt and clenched her jaw. A few times she had to close her eyes and focus on her breathing.

Eventually, he finished and put the dressing on her back.

"You took it well," Chakotay said.

"My jaw begs to differ," she said as she stretched her jaw.

Their advisors brought them a light and soft tunic to put put over their bodies while the tattoos set and healed.

"Kathryn, son of Edward and Chakotay, son of Kolopak have completed their rituals."

The tribe cheered around them and the couple carefully hugged.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 9 unwritten 7/9-7/11/2020.
> 
> I don't own rights to Voyager.


	10. Plans and Parties

**Some days later.**

Although Chakotay enjoyed seeing Sekaya again, it felt good to be back on Earth.

He was sitting on the couch sipping some tea and Kathryn leaned against his shoulder with her feet up.

"Kathryn, what about this house?"

"Mmm?"

He looked at her and saw her eyes closed and the PADD with wedding invitations sitting on her lap. He forgot that she fell asleep while he continued the house search. Chakotay put his tea gently down and cupped her face in his hand.

She opened her eyes, "Was I sleeping?"

He said, "Yes," and gave her a lingering kiss on her cheek.

She smiled and said, "I can't help it. Sometimes you're just so cozy."

Chakotay returned her smile and placed his arm around and over her shoulder.

"How long was I napping?"

"Half an hour."

Kathryn looked down at her PADD and said, "I think they're done. You'll need to look over the invitation list to see if I missed anyone and look over the invitation information."

"Okay. What do you think about this house?"

They had looked at different houses but none had captured what they were looking for.

Chakotay tilted the screen of the tablet towards her and she swapped her PADD for it.

She read the details and swiped through the photos and video.

"Well? What do you think?"

"It has the right number of rooms, it has nice yards, even a pool-"

"But what do you think?"

She shook her head in disbelief and said, "It's perfect."

"I thought so, too. It had plenty of bathtubs."

She guffawed.

He said, "Put in a request for us to see it, then."

"Sure," Kathryn said and sent a request for a viewing.

Chakotay looked over her list. They had received their wedding parties' acceptance of their wedding roles almost as soon as they sent them upon return to Earth.

"This will sure be some wedding. I think you've got everyone because it _is_ everyone!"

"Almost all of it is our crew and their families minus about sixty people," she said.

"It is," he smiled. "It all looks good."

"Go ahead and send them."

He pressed some buttons and said, "Done." Chakotay took her device and his and put them on the coffee table. He said, "We're one step closer to our house and the wedding."

"Yes. Can you believe it?"

He landed a kiss on her lips and said, "Oh, yes."

Kathryn gave him a kiss and he motioned her over. She straddled him and he placed a kiss on her neck.

"I think we should celebrate," he said as he landed another kiss on her neck.

"That sounds like a good idea," she said and took off her top.

"Yeah. Maybe dine out?" He said as he took his shirt off and unfastened his pants.

She stood up and stripped down her bottom half, "That sounds good. Date night."

"Yeah," he said as braced himself against the couch to shuck off his lower half as well.

Kathryn settled herself back down on him and took off his shirt. "What are you in the mood for?"

Chakotay unclasped her bra and swept it off her chest. "Oh, maybe Chinese," he grabbed her breast, "or maybe Italian," he grabbed the other.

She held him below and said, "They both have noodles."

"Yes," he said as she stroked him.

"Did you know the Chinese brought noodles to Italy? We have the Chinese to thank for spaghetti."

"I did not know that," Chakotay said.

She moved onto his shaft and said, "Chinese sounds good." She began thrusting her hips forward.

"Ohhhh.....Yes...Chinese it is."

He moved his hands down to her hips and motioned her forward while he thrust upwards to match her.

"Fortune cookies... were invented..in San Francisco," she panted.

He chuckled and said, "I didn't...expect all..the food...facts," he breathlessly said.

"I'm full of surprises," she said as she leaned forward and nibbled on his ear. Chakotay moaned at her movement.

She felt his shaft move deeper and deeper within her.

"But so am I," he said and have a booty a mischievous slap.

"Oof!" She said and laughed.

He moulded the cheek as they continued to thrust into each other.  
Kathryn's head fell back as his mouth met her chest and then she drooped forward.

"Uh!" She cried as it started to become too much.

"Yes, my love. Come," he said.

Kathryn gripped his shoulders tighter and she crumbled into him on the throes of her peak.

He raised her legs up onto the couch and rotated her to the side. After some meandering, Chakotay laid her on her back and thrusted in.

"Mmm!" He grunted on his re-entry.

Her thighs quivered as her body processed the shocks. Her eyes rolled back as her cries reached shrill levels. Chakotay took her into his arms and held her tightly to him. His moans grew deeper and then he shuddered to a full stop. They felt the energy and vibrations in each other's bodies as they settled down.

Chakotay got up and helped her up to her feet.

"Let's take a shower together before our dinner," he said.

They walked up to the shower and turned it on. She walked in and he followed. He traced her tattoo on her back and she felt the tingle.

"I think I get the whole fascination now," he said.

"With the tattoo?"

"Yeah. Sexy," he said.

She giggled.

"We're going to be married," he said.

"We are," she said and faced him and wrapped her hands around his waist.

"I'm happy."

"I'm excited and happy. I love you."

"I love you as well."

...

The next day they walked hand-in-hand through the two-story California house.

"It's beautiful," she said.

Chakotay said, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Yes," she replied.

...

Chakotay moved his things out of his apartment first. He and Kathryn decided to gradually move into the house while they still based out if her apartment. They needed to make some updates to the house and had to figure where to put their things.

"I feel like I'm continuously moving," he said.

"I know exactly what you mean. I'm glad I didn't unpack my things from my old place. At least this will be the last time we'll ever have to move," she said from the floor with PADDs scattered about in her Starfleet apartment.

"Speaking of moving, we need to get our butts out of here soon to go to Indiana."

Kathryn stood up and said, "Yep. Wedding plans don't wait for anyone."

...

They decided a few days in Indiana to get the wedding plans hammered out.

Chakotay had watched the Janeway women plotting away from a safe distance. Enough to hear what was being said yet away enough not be in any crossfire.

He smiled and enjoyed the Danish pastry down from the couch.

"Katie, remember that idea you had when you planned your wedding about the..." Phoebe continued on.

Chakotay just realized that Kathryn had already started to plan her weddings with her first two fiancés in the past. How many times had she thought about those plans just to have them thrown out?

'So that's why she's been so obsessed with the wedding plans and hasn't taken much of a break lately,' he thought to himself.

It all made sense. He couldn't pinpoint what was truly driving her besides the fact they wanted to marry quickly.

"No. We're not doing it," he heard with the dragging of the wooden chair across the floor.

He could feel the tension as Kathryn stood up. Chakotay knew Phoebe pushed a nerve.

Chakotay ate the last bite of the pastry and stood up. He walked behind her, wrapped his arms around her waist, and have her a kiss on the cheek. He instantly felt her relax.

"Need a break?" He said.

She sighed and said, "That may not be a bad idea."

"Meet me on the porch. I'll be right there," he said.

She nodded and leaned her head back to give him a kiss. He let go, gave her a little pat on her butt, and went to the kitchen. He poured two coffees and made up his own. When he heard the door close he said, "She's upset about old wedding plans, isn't she?" He grabbed some small plates and put some food to nibble on.

"Yes. I shouldn't have brought them up," Phoebe said as she poked in the kitchen.

"It's not your fault. You were trying to help," he said.

Chakotay put his outerwear on and went back to bring out the coffee and food to the porch tables.

"Thank you, babe," she said and gave him a peck when he sat down.

He raised an eyebrow. "Babe? That's a first."

"I don't really have nicknames for you, Chakotay," she said. "What do you think?"

He smiled and said, "It works."

"How's the planning going?"

"It's much harder than I thought. I never imagined inviting a ship-full of people before," she said and drank some of her coffee.

Chakotay nodded. "We can get a planner. I heard there was a Vulcan, T'Len that does great work."

What Kathryn didn't know was that Chakotay already searched him up while he was on the couch while he heard the women talking.

"A Vulcan?" She laughed incredulously.

"I know. He works with his wife, who is surprisingly not a Vulcan. He does the organization and she focuses on the personal touches," he chuckled.

"Why do I have the feeling you already looked them up?" She said with searching eyes.

"Look. You three were at a standstill. Some of your past...experiences...have been throwing roadblocks. We are in the process of moving into our house right now and we've been busybees lately. I think it might be a good idea to have some help. It was still be our wedding and it will still be personal."

She sighed and said, "As much as I hate to admit it, your'e right. It's been a little emotionally overtaxing. We can call them."

"Already done. They'll be here within the hour."

Kathryn's mouth dropped and she said, "How did you know I'd agree?"

He smiled and teased, "I know my fiancé," and shrugged.

She grabbed his head into her hands and laid a kiss on his lips. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

"You make my burdens lighter all of the time," she said and gave him another.

"Of course."

She planted another kiss on him and he said, "Wow. I wish I'd done this earlier if I knew you were gonna react like this." His face wrinkled in a smile.

...

The next day, there was a sense of calm. When the wedding planners came the day before, they took in what the couple was looking for and came up with a variety of ideas and put a framework in place.

Now, the couple were trying out food and cake.

"Mmm. This is soo good," she said as she took a bite out of a cake sample.

Chakotay dipped his fork in and put the piece on his mouth. He bobbed his head in agreement.

"So the vanilla and strawberries or the red velvet?"

"Why not both?" He asked.

"Okay," she said as she wiped some red velvet cake from his mouth. "I'm glad you talked me into this."

"I didn't really talk you into anything."

"Oh, yeah. I guess not. Still a good idea."

...  
 **March.**

**The day of the bachelorette and bachelor's parties. 3 days before the wedding.**

The wedding parties arrived at their-finally moved in house.

"You're already getting domesticated, Chakotay?" B'Elanna said as he hugged her at the entrance.

"It's more like the other way around," he joked.

"Nice house, you two," Tom said as he hugged Kathryn.

"Thanks," they said.

"So what are you ladies going to do?" Tom asked.

"None of your business," replied Seven.

"Make sure you enjoy yourself, Seven," he replied.

"I will try," she stated.

"That'll be interesting," Ayala said as he entered as he gave Chakotay a smacking hug.

Phoebe came in through the door and sarcastically said, "You couldn't get a bigger house?"

"It has the same number of rooms as our house, Phee," Kathryn said.

"It sure feels like your and Chakotay's house. A mix of technology for you and yet still classic."

"Are we gonna go or what?" Tom said and pushed Chakotay towards the door.

Chakotay laughed and called back to Kathryn, "Love you."

Kathryn waved, "Love you. Be safe."

The pack of Mike Ayala, Harry, Tom, and Chakotay left the house while the ladies remained.

Once they got into the hover car, the men blindfolded Chakotay.

"Just where are you taking us, Tom?"

"You'll know when we get there."

He felt hands on his face and his hair being smoothed.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"Giving you a new look," Ayala's voice said.

"Ayala, are you putting makeup on my tattoo?" Chakotay asked.

"Yeah, man. Gotta be undercover," he said.

Chakotay then felt a hat being placed over his head.

An hour or so later, they removed the the blindfold and the sunlight hit his eyes.

They walked towards a building.

"A pizza parlor?" Chakotay said.

Tom said, "Yeah. They have all kinds. We'll have some pizza, a few beers, then we'll go onto the main event."

"No strippers, Paris," Chakotay sternly said.

"You kidding? B'Elanna would kill me. I can't imagine what your admiral would do to me...or to **_you_**."

Harry and Mike Ayala snickered.

They sat a booth and all of them were wearing black caps. Mike wore his backwards and Chakotay laughed.

"Mike, seriously. You look like an asshole."

Everyone around the table laughed.

Mike took the cap off, placed it on the table, and said, "And you look like a baby face now." Mike showed a spoon in front of Chakotay's face.

He took it and had a look. Chakotay said, "Not bad. Tom, did you borrow B'Elanna's makeup?"

Tom smiled.

His eyebrows raised and he shrugged. "Not a bad concealer for when I grow a few more wrinkles," Chakotay said and gave the spoon back to Mike.

"Okay, old man. I'll forward that to her so she can give you tips," Tom replied.

They all laughed.

...

Phoebe said to Sam, Seven, B'Elanna, and Kathryn, "Okay, it's time for our fun to start!"

Sam placed a tiara and a sash on Kathryn.

Phoebe said, "Okay, here's the plan Katie. Since you didn't have or want an engagement party..."

Kathryn gave her a look.

"I know, I know. But this isn't an engagement party. It's a bachelorette party... with presents."

She opened the door and opened the hatch to the hovercar. The ladies helped and brought in their presents, which they had stored with Phoebe.

"Pheebs..."

The presents were placed on the beautifully lacquered wood dining table.

"Sit," B'Elanna commanded.

Kathryn sat down carefully as if there might have been tacks on the seat.

Sam took out a bottle of wine and a wine opener from a bag she brought and went to the farm-style island.

"Where are your wine glasses?"

"Uhh...there are only two. On the far right top cabinet."

Sam got them out and replicated duplicates for the rest of them. She poured the glasses and handed one to each of the women.

"No, thank you," said Seven when one was handed to her. "I don't react well to alcohol."

"Oh, sorry, I forgot, Seven. I brought some sparkling cider, too. It doesn't have alcohol. Would you like a glass?"

"That is preferable. Thank you. "

After drinks were settled, all of the women were sitting down at the table.

"Go ahead, cap-Kathryn. Open them," B'Elanna said.

Kathryn unwrapped the first gift. It was a red lacy teddy lingerie that left little to be desired. There was also a more traditional white lacy one as well. The white one was from her mother.

"Thanks, Phoebe."

The next one was a book titled, '100 Sexual Positions to Please Both You and Your Partner'.

Kathryn turned red and B'Elanna said, "I highlighted some our favorites."

Kathryn coughed and said, "Thanks."

Seven asked, "What is the reason for all of the sexual presents?"

Phoebe said, "It's tradition."

"Are you not suggesting that they need help in their sexual behaviors?" Seven asked.

Kathryn drank some more wine.

B'Elanna said, "No. It's just fun. It's like...

Sam joined in, "It's like celebrating that they get to consummate their marriage. It goes back hundreds of years."

"But todaymany couples already have sexual relations before marriage," Seven said.

"Yes, that's true. It's more like celebrating the next stage in womanhood, so to speak."

"Well, the Adm-Kathryn already has experienced that stage," Seven said.

All the women looked at Seven in shock and Kathryn turned bright red. Phoebe gave a giggle since she new it was true. The other women were floored.

Seven responded coolly, "Has everyone forgotten that I have a heightened sense of smell?"

There were awkward coughs.

"Well, thanks for that Seven, but even I was going to keep that fact under wraps," Phoebe said.

Kathryn buried her face in her hands in embarrassment.

"It's true? _Captain_!" B'Elanna gasped and exclaimed.

Kathryn lifted her head up.

"Soo how is Chakotay, you know...in bed?" B'Elanna asked.

Kathryn laughed and shook her head.

"On a scale from one to ten," Phoebe asked.

"What is this? Are you and B'Elanna some kind of tag team now?" Kathryn asked.

"Answer," Seven said.

"'Et tu, Brute?'"

"The Shakespearean play on the death of Julius Caesar will not aid you, admiral," Seven said.

"Eleven," Kathryn coughed out and drank some wine.

"I don't think we could hear you," Sam said.

"E-leven," she enunciated.

Everyone giggled.

"Open the next gift," Sam said.

She opened it and said, "Why, uh, thank you, Sam."

"What is it?" A few asked.

She held it up and said, "Lubricant."

B'Elanna chuckled and said, "Sam, don't Ktarian males have-"

"Yep. That's the good stuff. You think they just have ridges on their foreheads," Sam said.

"Samantha!" Kathryn said.

"Especially if he _is_ an eleven," she added.

They all laughed and Kathryn nodded in defeat.

Kathryn opened the next bag and opened the present.

She burst out laughing. "Seven, I thought you didn't understand."

"I didn't, but research said it was an appropriate gift," Seven said.

"Show us," they all said.

Kathryn couldn't as she continued to laugh.

The gift was moved to the forefront. "A vibrating dildo? Seven. of. Nine!" B'Elanna clapped.

Seven said blatantly, "For those times when Chakotay is _not_ an eleven."

The room exploded in laughter.

After presents, they ate an early dinner the women brought with them.

Afterwards, B'Elanna placed a dark brunette wig on her.

"What's with the wig?" She asked.

"It's for your safety," Seven said.

Her face and Chakotay's have been everywhere on the news. Even when they went out to dinner it had to be late at night.

Phoebe took her hand and pulled her to the door, "Let's go!"

"Where are we going?" Kathryn asked.

"You'll see," B'Elanna said.

A blindfold was put around her eyes as soon as they put her in the hovercar.

"A surprise, huh?" Kathryn said.

"Yes and you can't order me to tell you," Phoebe's voice said.

...

Chakotay didn't know what to expect from the bachelor party that Tom had planned. So far, the pizza and the beer were good. He felt a bit funny in the hat, though.

Mike said, "So, Chakotay. Only a few more days left as a bachelor. I never thought this man would settle down in the Maquis with his _conquests_."

Chakotay clenched his jaw as Harry's face turned a bit pink.

"Well? How about it, Chakotay? Is it true? I mean, I was on your ship for just a brief while. I do know you wear your heart on your sleeve," Tom said.

Over his beer, Chakotay replied, "I admit I may have had a somewhat unstable and flagrant set of affairs," and drank some beer. "Maquis captain's privilege."

Harry said, "I'm sure the good looks helped, too."

The men chuckled.

...

"How was the bachelor party with the boys yesterday?" Kathryn asked the next morning in their house.

He propped an arm up in bed and said, "It was good. They took me out for some pizza and beer. Then we went to a martial arts tournament. How about you ladies?"

"Well, they practically threw me and engagement party at the beginning. There were gifts, wine, and we had a meal Sam brought. Then we actually went to a paint class. Afterwards we went to a spa. We got massages, went to the sauna, and a club."

He smiled. "Clubbing, huh? Miss Janeway!"

She shyly smiled and said, "Yep. It was obviously Phoebe's idea."

"I'm sorry I missed it," he said with hunger in his eyes and he squeezed her butt. "Any exciting gifts?"

Kathryn laughed and snickered.

"Okay, now you've got to tell me."

She said, "Seven. You know, Seven of Nine?"

"Yesss," waiting for to get to the point.

"She got me...She got me..."

"Spit it out!" He laughed.

"A flaming pink vibrating dildo!"

He bent over and said, "Seven?!"

She nodded and they bent over, laughing for several minutes.

"Where is it?" He asked.

"On the table."

Chakotay got out of bed and shot out of the room.

"Chakotay! You're not thinking of...! Don't open the blue bag! That's a surprise for the wedding!" She laughed and shouted.

He returned awhile with several items in his hand.

"So here we've got lube, a book on sex positions, and a dildo. The book even had bookmarks and comments!"

Kathryn giggled, wiping tears from the corners of her eyes.

"I'm liking the one on page forty-two right now," he flipped the book to show her the position.

Kathryn lifted her blanket to hide her face in embarrassment.

She heard his voice say, "Mmm. Let's put some of this like this. I think that's the vibration control...okay!"

She heard the vibrator begin and she giggled and peeked nervously over the blanket. "Chakotay!"

He turned it off and placed it in the nightstand with book and lube. He shrugged off his boxers and went to the end of the bed. He crawled onto it like a lion as Kathryn giggled.

"Miss Janeway, I want you," he said and reached his hand under her nightgown. He pulled her thong off and flung it away. Chakotay buried his head under her nightgown and she watched his head move up forwards her.

Then all of a sudden, she threw her head violently back against he pillow in a deep moan.

No one had ever done this before with her. It was explosive and she was out of her mind. She grabbed around for any of the white or sky blue sheets or pillows she could.

He then slowed down and exited from the nightgown and took the vibrator off the table. Then he placed it under the nightgown and turned it on and moved his arm forward.

As soon as it went in, Kathryn quickly whispered, "Turn it down! Turn it down!"

He lowered the intensity and watched as she writhed on the bed in front of her. After some time he turned it off and put it away. Chakotay then lifted her body to take off her nightgown and crawled on top of her. He kissed her breasts as his hardness pressed against her belly. "Now I'll finish," he growled.

He moved his hips until he entered her.

It didn't take long once he lifted her back up towards him that she screamed and he yelled and collapsed in a heap of sweat.

"I missed you yesterday," he managed to get out through his panting.

"I missed you, too," she said breathlessly.

"I've got to remember to thank your bridal party for the gifts," his dimples showed in a smile.

She smiled and gave him a kiss. He returned it and rolled her on top of him as they continued to make out in bed with his hands feeling the curves of her back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written 7/11-7/13/2020.
> 
> I don't own rights to Voyager.
> 
> You guyyyyys it's already chapter 10! 🤯


	11. ...and We're Gonna Get Married.. .

**The morning of the wedding.**

In the past, she always was torn about wearing a Starfleet uniform or an actual wedding dress when it came to Justin and Mark.

When it came to Chakotay, there was no doubt in her mind what she would wear.

She watched from the second floor window as guests filed their way toward the large, somewhat opaque, tent structure. It was still cold outside that morning with patches of snow still on the ground.

Kathryn was pacing in her white dress in her father's office. She folded her hands as she ran through her memorized vows in her head.

'I should just bring it with me just in case,' she thought. There were hidden pockets in the dress, after all, which she absolutely loved because it also kept her hands warm.

The women were getting their finishing touches done in the other rooms.

Phoebe came in and said, "Nervous?"

Kathryn nodded. "I've been a captain. I'm an admiral. I've dealt with countless negotiations and first contacts. I've been waiting for this day for so long. I shouldn't be nervous," she said.

She looked at a bookshelf that held a photo of her father and said, "I miss him. I wish he could be here."

Phoebe stood beside her and said, "Me, too. Can you imagine the questioning dad would have put Chakotay through?"

Kathryn laughed. "Yes. At least fifty questions. Poor Cheb Parker. I didn't think he'd survive when dad found out about us."

Phoebe went into the desk and pulled out an Irish Whiskey and two glasses.

"Let's drink some liquid courage and toast dad," she said and poured a mouthful in each glass. Phoebe gave one to her.

"To dad," they said and clinked their glasses before they drank.

"Wow. That's definitely not synthehol!" Kathryn coughed.

"Yeah, no kidding," Phoebe said as she looked at the bottle label.

Naomi came into the room in her forest green dress and long braided hair.

"Oh, Naomi. You look absolutely beautiful!'

"Thank you, admiral."

"Admiral?" Kathryn said.

"Kathryn. Sorry, it's a bit weird calling you by your first name now."

"It's alright. Many adults from Voyager are having difficulties, too," she laughed softly.

Naomi said, "Mom is happy she gets to dress up again. She likes dressing up."

"I'm glad. Naomi, can you do a little favor for me?"

"Yeah."

Kathryn took out a folded paper from her other dress pocket and handed it to her. "Can you give this to Chakotay? Can you also give him a happy hug for me?"

"Yes!" Naomi said and took off.

Kathryn smiled. She hadn't seen Chakotay since yesterday morning during rehearsal. Another reason for her anxiousness.

...

"Looking good, gentlemen!" Tom said as he looked at Chakotay, Mike, Harry. Tuvok was also there but was dressed in a black and white Vulcan tunic. The rest were in tuxes.

Chakotay and Kathryn let the men choose to either wear dress uniforms or suits. The men actually surprisingly opted for the tuxes since they wore their own uniforms for the last seven years it almost felt too casual. Plus, they didn't like the length of the dress uniforms.

Chakotay was pacing in the decorated and heated barn. "How much longer until we start to go out?" He asked in his old commander's voice.

Tuvok said, "Twenty minutes. We will be notified when they are ready for us."

He nodded and said, "Okay."

"Relax, Chakotay. This isn't a first contact mission with alien dignitaries," Mike said.

"It isn't. It's more important," Chakotay said blatantly.

They heard a knock on the barn door and Harry opened the door.

"Naomi? What are doing here?" He said.

"I've got to deliver important things to Chakotay from Cap-Kathryn."

Harry opened the door to let her in and closed the cold outside.

"Naomi? What do you have for me?" Chakotay asked as she approached him.

"Uh. Two things. This," she handed the note to him, "and a happy hug." She gave Chakotay a big hug and then rushed towards the barn door.

Chakotay smiled and said, "Hold on, Naomi. Let me read this and I'll send a reply hug back."

Naomi stopped and then smiled. "Okay."

He saw his name on the note and opened it. He walked as he read it with a grin on his face. When he finished he said, "Naomi, come here."

She did and he knelt down on his haunches. With a finger, he beconed her even closer. He whispered into his ear and then gave her a kiss on her cheek before standing up. She nodded with a blush and then hurried out the door.

"What was that all about?" Harry asked with a curious smile on his face.

"Kathryn gave me a love note," Chakotay blushed.

"You two are way too cute," Tom said.

"My wife and I did something similar the day before our arranged day," Tuvok said.

"A _love_ note?" Tom asked.

"We pointed out how logical the match was, how similar we were, and how the day would be a significant date in our lives," Tuvok said.

"That's a close to a Vulcan love note you can get, I guess," Harry said and patted Tuvok's shoulder.

...

Kathryn saw Naomi come in after she knocked.

"Chakotay told me to tell you that he loved your letter and that he feels the same way. He said he loves you and can't wait to marry you and become your husband. Oh, and this," she beckoned Kathryn down and she gave her a kiss on the cheek and a hug.

Kathryn smiled and blushed.

"Thank you, Naomi."

...

In what felt like an instant, T'Len, the wedding coordinator, knocked on the barn doors and Mike opened it. After nodding, Mike said, "It's time, men."

Tuvok asked Tom, "I need to verify that you have the rings."

Tom said, "Again, Tuvok? You don't trust me?"

Tom took out and displayed that he had both rings and put them back into his pocket. Tuvok gave a satisfied nod.

Chakotay took one last drink from the glass of water to settle the nerves. He put it down, tugged on his jacket, and said, "Here we go."

Tuvok, as officiant, was the first outside. Chakotay was right behind him with Tom, Mike, and Harry behind him in a line. The women came from the house and joined their line.

Sekaya joined Chakotay on one arm with a blanket on the other.

"I'm so proud of you, brother," Sekaya said with a smile.

"Thanks, Sekaya. Thank you for doing this for us," he said and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

Gretchen joined Chakotay and took his other arm. "I'm so happy for you both you and Katie," she said and patted his hand.

"Thank you, Gretchen. I'm a lucky man," he said.

"I think I'm the lucky one. I've got a handsome man on my arm!"

Chakotay and Sekaya chuckled.

Tom and B'Elanna paired up behind them and gave a smooch to each other. Seven joined Harry and took his arm as Harry blushed. Mike was joined with Sam.

Once they paired up, Tuvok walked toward the enormous tent and with the rest following.

Chakotay heard the "Awwws," as he appeared with Gretchen on his arm as his eyes swept the tent. It was absolutely packed with family and friends. Once they made it to the front row Gretchen gave him a kiss on the cheek and he gave one back. She gave his arm one last squeeze before she walked to her seat. Sekaya and Chakotay exchanged kisses before she joined Tuvok and the front.

He made it to his spot at the front. Chakotay was glad some attention was on the wedding parties walking behind him because he did feel a lot of eyes on him.

Once Phoebe came in with the music, he turned to face towards Tuvok.

Tom whispered, "It's not too late to turn back."

Chakotay said seriously, "And _why_ , in both the Alpha and Delta Quadrants, would I do that, _Mr. Paris_?"

Then they snuck a smile at each other.

Chakotay's heart pounded as he waited for the tap to turn around.

...

About five minutes earlier.

Gretchen called, "It's time, ladies!"

They all walked downstairs and got in order. Gretchen gave a kiss to Kathryn and said, "You just look so radiant, Katie."

"I'm so happy, mom," Kathryn said.

"I'm glad. Owen," she said to Admiral Paris who was getting up from the armchair, "she's ready for you."

Everyone left the house except Phoebe, Naomi, and Owen. They waited for one of the wedding planners to fetch them after the main wedding parties have made their way to the tent.

"Thanks for doing this, Owen."

"I'm glad you let me do this. For you and for your father," he said in his dress uniform.

She smiled and nodded.

"You may come out now," Miam, the wife of T'Lem, said after opening the door.

Owen stuck out his arm to Kathryn and she took it with both hands as they proceeded out the door.

Kathryn could only see the last two bridal party pairs ahead of them. When they just made it to the tent, Naomi dropped the short trail of her dress and walked in front with the container of red flower petals Miam handed her. Phoebe entered the tent and the music of their arrival began to play. Naomi soon followed.

Kathryn controlled her breathing and Owen said, "Just a fair warning. It looks like it's a full house. You've got my arm. This is your last chance to back out."

She laughed nervously and said, "I've waited long enough for this."

He smiled and said, "Okay, then. Let's go shock the hell out of your groom."

They walked in and realized Owen wasn't exaggerating. She felt bubbles in her chest and her heartbeat was pounding.  
She heard the, "Ohhh wow," and the, "Would you look at her," and the, "She's so beautiful," comments as they walked down the aisle.

She scanned the tent with a smile until she looked towards the groom. Chakotay had his back turned and she saw Tom tap his shoulder.

...

Chakotay turned around and his heart fell to the floor. His emotions welled up inside as he saw the most beautiful woman walking towards him with a large smile on her face.

Kathryn saw Chakotay turn around and saw Chakotay's first look. It went from absolute amazement to a welling of emotions. It wasn't often she saw Chakotay cry but this time he almost looked like he would. His face contorted with love as he tried to smile and refrain from crying all at the same time.

She was smiling so hard but his look was making her emotional as well.

She finally made it to the end with Owen. He placed her hand in Chakotay's, gave him a pat on the arm with a handshake, and kissed her on the cheek before walking to his seat. Kathryn handed her bouquet to Phoebe and she joined her hands with Chakotay's.

Chakotay said, "Gods, Kathryn. You're so beautiful right now that I can't even find the words to describe it."

"Thank you. You look handsome as well I was afraid you were going to make me ugly cry before I even made it up here," she said and they chuckled.

Tuvok started the ceremony.

"Today, we are gathered here to marry Kathryn Elizabeth Janeway to Chakotay, son of Kolopak. We will combine a traditional Earth ceremony with the Blanket Joining Ceremony from Chakotay's tribe. I have been asked by the couple, as their friend, and as one who has been ordained by both Vulcan and Starfleet, to officiate.The couple has some vows they wish to share."

Kathryn began first. "Chakotay. I never expected any of this. I never expected to fall in love with the man I was sent to capture. I never expected to spend seven years in the Delta Quadrant. I tried to bury my feelings when I started to feel the attraction between us. As a captain in a unique situation, I didn't feel like I could allow myself to love even when I was free to. I felt I couldn't allow myself to love because I couldn't risk losing it. We had our ups and downs, especially over the last few years. You aren't afraid to let me know when I am wrong even when I believe I'm right. You have been patient with me. You have respected my boundaries and have been a perfect gentleman. You have always been there at my side as my commander and as my friend. Soon, you will be at my side as my husband. I will support you and will try the best wife I can be. I love you so much, Chakotay."

Chakotay handed his pocket square to her and she smiled as she took it to dab the corners of her eyes.

"Kathryn. When I first met you it wasn't exactly the most ideal situation."

People in the crowd chuckled and so did Kathryn.

"You asked me to help and later join your crew, which later became our crew. You offered me your trust and I made sure to earn and not to betray it. I knew it wouldn't be easy at first but we worked well together. I found a peace in myself I didn't know I still had when I'm with you. I found you intelligent, caring, funny, and stubborn. I gradually started to have feelings for you. I knew the timing wasn't wasn't ideal and that we both haven't exactly been lucky in our past relationships. It was tough when I sat beside you and talked to you every day. I figured and hoped that one day we might be allowed to explore a relationship. Maybe after awhile love could squeeze through the cracks. When the gates actually did open, I found a love that surpassed everything I've ever felt before. I once promised that I would make your burdens lighter and I will continue to make them lighter. I will the the best husband to you and the best father to our future children. I love you, Kathryn, with all of my heart, forever. "

She smiled and hung on every word.

"I will now read a poem they have asked me to read," Tuvok said.

Tuvok started to read the words but they were enamored with each other's eyes. Chakotay's eyes looked at her with complete focus and a smile. Kathryn's glassy eyes reflected his love back at him.

Tuvok finished the poem and Sekaya lifted a blanket she had and said a prayer over the couple in the native tongue and in the Federation standard. She gave the blanket to Chakotay and Sekaya said, "In our tribe, each family has a blanket that is passed down from father to son in each family. It is given to the son's bride at their wedding."

He unfolded the blanket and wrapped it around his bride and said to her, "With this blanket, I prove to you that I will protect you, keep you warm in the cold, and provide shade for you in the heat. I wrap yourself in my love for you."

Kathryn had to use his pocket square on her eyes once more as she sniffled.

"Now, for the rings," Tuvok said towards Tom. Tom took the rings out of his pocket and gave one to Kathryn and one to Chakotay and returned back to his spot.

"With this ring, I make you my husband," she said and slipped the ring onto his warm hands.

"With this ring, I make you my wife," he said and slipped the ring onto her finger.

Then they rejoined their hands.

"By the authority vested in me by Starfleet and the planet Vulcan, I know declare you husband and wife. You may now kiss."

Chakotay cupped her face and she wrapped her arms around his waist with the blanket. Then they gave a kiss that brought the house down.

...

Phoebe handed her back her bouquet and they made their way down the aisle while everyone cheered.

They were both incredibly happy as they made their way out of the tent.

The photographer brought them over by the barn and they waited for the rest of the wedding party to catch up for photos.

Kathryn and Chakotay kissed some more and the photographer said, "Ay, ay, ay. Hold some of it for later Your wife needs her makeup fixed a bit before you mess it all up, lover boy."

They laughed and she returned the tear-stained pocket square back to Chakotay. Kathryn's makeup was fixed up before the wedding parties took pictures and they took their couple pictures.

...

After the photos were done, it was just the two of them for a bit while the tent was transformed for the reception and the guests enjoyed cocktail hour by the barn.

"How are you, my lovely wife?" Chakotay held her waist and smiled.

"Wonderful, my handsome husband," Kathryn placed her hands around his neck. "I've never been so happy in my entire life."

They leaned into each other and they kissed. He whispered into his wife's ear, "I want to whisk you away right now."

She coyly said, "Oh, yes?"

He picked her up in his arms and said, "Yes."

"They'll come looking for us."

"Let them."

They went into the house and he walked her upstairs to her childhood room and laid her on the bed.

He got up on top of her and they made out.

"We can't make love right now," she said.

"I know. I just wanted some alone time with my wife," he smiled with his dimples showing.

She nodded and said, "Yeah. Especially since we'll be with our guests most of the time until we leave."

They continued to kiss and touch each other. Before things got too heavy she said, "Now let's go back before they start looking for us."

...

"Introducing Mr. Chakotay and Mrs. Janeway!" was heard as they walked into the tent as they held each other's hand. She had handed the blanket to Miriam to have out in the aircar. Now her tattoo was prominent on her shoulder for all to see.

"And now for their first dance as husband and wife," the speaker continued.

They danced and her head leaned against his chest. "I love you so much," Kathryn said and closed her eyes as they slow danced.

"I know. You married me," he said.

"I did," his wife said.

They held each other during the song and were completely content.

...

Kathryn looked at Chakotay across the tent and smiled. It was time. She joined him and they waved goodbye to their guests. 

Bubbles and confetti were in the air as they left the tent. 

They made their way to their aircar, which had written on it, "Just married!" on the back of it.

"Are those supposed to be...ancient food cans?" Chakotay asked as he looked at the tail of the aircar.

Kathry laughed and said, "Must've been Tom and Harry's idea."

They went inside the aircar and closed the doors before the sat down.

Kathryn called, "Okay, Captain Chakotay, let's go on our honeymoon!"

"Yes, admiral!" He said and smiled.

He started the aircar and as it lifted they made their final waves before they took off.

Kathryn took off her heels and said, "That was a lovely wedding we had."

"Yes, it was. I can't believe that Tuvok of all people shared the story about the salamander babies!"

Kathryn laughed and said, "And they say Vulcans have no humor! I was happy the Phoebe caught the bouquet."

Her husband's dimples showed and he said, "I was nervous before the wedding. Your letter helped me relax. I loved it."

"I was nervous, too. That's why I had it. Oh, and Naomi was blushing so hard when she came back to give me the kiss and the hug. It was adorable."

Chakotay chuckled.

Kathryn asked curiously, "Also, where _**are**_ we going on our honeymoon?"  
...

Eventually, after several hours, they approached their destination.

"Venice, Chakotay! Oh! Just like we talked about how we've never been there!" Her face went into a large giddy grin.

"Did you know they had to lift the city due to rising water levels several hundred years ago? It was similar to an engineering feat they did for Old Town Sacramento after the great flood."

Chakotay said, "You're a trivia buff like Tom, now?"

"Actually, Neelix told me when he was researching Earth years ago," she chuckled.

"Ahhh. I actually miss the guy more than I thought. He would've loved the wedding."

"Me, too. I'm glad we got to make a recording to have Starfleet send with the Pathfinder Project."

"Yes, I'm glad we could do something. "

...  
When they unlocked the door to their suite, Chakotay swooped her off her feet and crossed her through the threshold before the door closed behind them.

He carried his wife all the way up to the ornately carved bed and carefully placed her back on her feet.

"It's absolutely gorgeous, Mr. Chakotay, she said with a tease and a smile.

"I'm glad you like it, Mrs. Janeway," he said.

Kathryn took her husband's hand and walked through the French doors and onto the balcony. The sunset was a stunning peachy red.

Chakotay moved behind her, wrapped her arms around her waist, and placed his head next to hers.

"A beautiful sunset for a beautiful wife," he said and watched her smile.

The stood in silence watching the sun go down and then went back inside.

"Are you hungry for dinner?" He asked.

"No, I am actually fine right now," she said.

"Then maybe we should get to dessert and consummate our marriage," he winked.

She bit her lip at the thought she might have been set up. Then she said, "Well, you'll need to help me out of this dress first, husband of mine."

He nodded and said, "Of course, my wife."

Kathryn took off his jacket and turned her back towards him and he started to unfasten the dress with a few verbal instructions. Kathryn held her dress up with a hand and gathered a small bag that was with their luggage by the door.

She winked and said, "I'll be back. Don't undress yet," as she went into the restroom.

Chakotay moved the tribal blanket that was at the foot of the bed to the bed. He took off his socks and shoes and waited patiently for his surprise.

Kathryn came barefoot out in a white teddy lingerie and sauntered towards him. He gulped, even though he's seen her naked many times. Each time was like the first time and this time it was with fine lingerie.

"Wow," was all he managed to say.

She tugged on the bowtie an let it dangle loosely as she unbuttoned and tugged the shirt out of his pants. Her hands moved across his chest and she tossed the shirt to the floor. His hand weaved through the now medium-length tresses of her hair, taking out any clips and pins from it and setting them on the nightstand.

His wife unfastened his pants and he shredded them off. Now they were both left in their underwear. He unhooked the back of her lingerie and slowly peeled it down to the floor. He walked her back until she sat on the side bed and removed his boxers. They kissed each other passionately and he scooted her back a bit more across the bed. She laid her back down as he advanced to kiss almost every part of her body.

"Gods and spirits, I love you Kathryn," he said.

"I love you, too, Chakotay."

He caressed and spread his wife's legs open before guiding himself into her. She reacted and he moved her legs around his waist. Chakotay wrapped the blanket over them and he thrusted with her. Her moans were tantalizing as he kissed the nape of her neck. He could hear every one of his wife's breaths.

Kisses on her neck always made her tingle. It was simple but so effective. Kathryn could feel her husband's breath and feel the warmth against her body. She paced with him, pressing her hips against him. He then molded her buttcheeks apart in his hands, further intensifying her sensations. She knew he was going to come soon and so was she. Her fingers clawed into his back for support and she gradually started to lose her mind to the small death. With each thrust she clung more tightly until they exploded. She let out a piercing cry as he let out a loud moan as his seed surged into her. Chakotay gave one last desperate press and surrendered his body to her. He slipped out and rolled onto his side underneath the blanket.

They gave each other a kiss and rested with his arm across her chest.

"You still taste like cake," she said.

"So do you, he said."

"Well, I guess we'll see the results of our consummation in a few weeks," he added.

They had been off the "if needed" emergency-type boosters for a few days. They had gradually reduced from the bimonthly boosters to the monthly, daily, and so forth.

"I guess so," she said.

He rubbed a hand across her belly and said, "Good thing we brought the blanket."

"Why?" She asked.

His grin showed his dimples as he said, "It's also supposed to be a fertility blanket, of sorts. With the prayer blessing of the couple it is also supposed to extend to their future children."

"So...it's also ababy-making blanket?" She giggled.

"In a way. It's supposed to bring luck, although I don't know how true that is. My father said I wasn't born under one. But then I was a breeched baby," he chuckled.

"Would you like a boy or a girl?" His wife asked.

"As long as they have either your hair or your eyes, either," he said.

She smiled and said, "We can order dinner to our room and double our chances."

Her husband gave a peck to her lips and said, "That sounds good."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written 7/13-7/14/2020.
> 
> We still have a bit more to go but the story is almost to its end in a few chapters!
> 
> By the way, I think this this is the fourth time cake has been mentioned in this story. ;)


	12. Full of Cake

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Make sure to read the chapter notes when you are finished with the chapter to find out what happened later to our warrior family in the epilogue! 
> 
> I would love to hear what your favorite parts of either, "Dinner," or "Cake," were in the comments, too! ❤

It's been two months since they've tried to get pregnant.

Kathryn had already started her job as an admiral a month ago. Chakotay had been doing some work on assigning remaining Voyager personnel as the ship.

"Maybe we should check with a doctor," Chakotay said after Kathryn expressed her concern about their fertility.

They went to a specialist and also requested the Doctor attend as well from Jupiter Station.

They were told that they were both fertile but if they really wanted to improve on their options that they do invitro. They decided to try for at least two more months and if that didn't work, they would go ahead with the invitro.

...

 **One-and-a-half months later**.

"I wish I could join you," she said as she said goodbye before he left on the transport to Voyager.

"Me, too. But they wanted you here to oversee the Romulan/Reman situation with the Enterprise. You'll have tabs on us the whole time while we check out the nearby systems," Chakotay said.

"Don't forget to message me each night after your shift. No matter the time," Kathryn said.

"I will look forward to it each night," he said with a smile and gave her a kiss.

She gave him a hug that was a bit too tight and was lingering.

"It'll all be fine, Kathryn."

"I know. I feel like each time I say goodbye it might be the last because of the Delta Quadrant. The counselor has been working with me on that."

"Good. I love you, wifey." He knew giving her pet nickname would make her smile and it did.

"I love you, hubby," she replied.

...

**A few weeks later.**

Her coffee tasted strange. She made a fresh pot, not replicated, and it still tasted way too bitter. When she switched to Chakotay's cinnamon tea it was fine.

She ate her bagel and drink tea while reading a PADD at the kitchen table before her stomach felt a little queasy.

A shock of realization hit her and she hurried to the restroom. Kathryn emerged from it with a device in shaking in her hand.

Pregnant.

She finally was pregnant and Chakotay was on Voyager on what was still looking like a year-long mission. She hadn't bothered to check after the last time they made love because she admitted to herself that they would have to do invitro when he came back.

She was overjoyed but saddened he wasn't there in their home that morning to share it with. She would have to wait until their nightly communication.

...

**That night.**

"...think Tom is jealous of our new pilot. I know he secretly misses the pilot's chair."

"I'm not surprised."

"Harry's actually doing really good at security and tactical."

"Oh, that's good. I'm glad. It is definitely a change from ops," Kathryn said.

"So how was your day?" He asked.

"It was fine. I have something to tell you. "

"What is it?" He said with a little concern.

"I'm pregnant."

Chakotay's face widened with joy.

"We're pregnant?!"

"Well, technically I am," she teased. "The doctor put me on a schedule and started me on prenatal supplements."

Chakotay stood up and ran his hands over his face. "Oh, I'm so happy!

"But there's a downside. I have a choice of little decaf coffee or no coffee," she said.

He chuckled and said, "I believe you will survive even if my sanity won't."

She laughed. "Your caffeine-free cinnamon tea has been a decent substitute."

"When do we get to know the sex?"

"In two months."

"Okay. I love you," he said.

"I love you, too."

...

**Two months later.**

Gretchen and Phoebe were next to Kathryn.

"Twins?" Kathryn made sure she heard correctly.

The doctor nodded.

"Twins, Katie! Oh!"

"Do you want to know the sex of your twins?"

"Yes. My husband and I want to know."

"You will be having a boy and a girl."

Phoebe squealed as her new engagement ring shone. "I'll be an aunt!"

...

**That night.**

"So how did the appointment go today?" Chakotay asked.

"Good. Chakotay, we're having twins."

"Twins?! Twins! Oh, honey!" He smiled.

"A boy and a girl."

"Gods. Fraternal twins. That's amazing! How are you feeling?"

"Happy. I'll blow up like a balloon, though," she laughed.

...

After the call, Chakotay went over to Tom and B'elanna's quarters.

"Hey, Chakotay. What's up?" Tom said.

"Tom, we're having twins!" He said and gave him a hug.

"Twins? Twins. Oh, wow."

B'Elanna came from around the corners.

Tom said, "They're having twins, B'Elanna!"

"Twins?"

Chakotay nodded. She came over and gave him a hug.

"Let's go tell Harry," Chakotay said.

B'Elanna stayed with Miral as the men trooped over to Harry's quarters.

When the door opened and he saw the two men Harry asked, "Am I in trouble? Or do I need to deal with trouble?"

" _Double_ trouble," Tom said.

"Kathryn and I are having twins," Chakotay clarified and smiled.

"Twins?" Harry said like everyone else.

"Yes, Uncle Harry," Chakotay said.

They all laughed.

...

Chakotay had trouble sleeping that night. He was too excited. Two of them!

He knew his wife was starting to stress about having children before he left. When the doctor told them they were both fertile it helped relieve most of the stress. Chakotay had preferred that they have children naturally before going with invitro, which did stress her even more. Especially since the longer the waited, their fertility percentages would drop even futher. When he left on Voyager sooner than was expected, they thought they would have to start invitro.

Luckily, that wasn't an issue anymore.

He felt a bit guilty. Voyager's updates and overhaul were completed a month earlier than expected. If they hadn't, he would've known about the pregnancy and would have found a replacement. Voyager was nearby Kron'os to see if the changes in the new Romulan Senate with the new Praetor Shinzon caused changes in relations with the Klingons. Captain Picard and the Enterprise directly dealt with Praetor Shinzon and the Romulan Senate.

He's going to be a father. He grabbed the pillow that had been substituting as his wife's body and finally went to sleep.

...

**Two months later.**

Admiral Janeway, now showing a decent sized baby bump, was glad her shift was a few hours from being over. She left her desk and went out to her assistant's desk in her office's foyer.

"Decan, will you give this to the Admiral Nechayev when she arrives? She's expecting it." She handed him a PADD.

"Yes, admiral."

"Oof! Oh!" She exclaimed and placed a hand above her bump.

"Admiral, are you alright?'

Kathryn shook her head as she clutched his desk and bent over in some pain. She knew something wasn't right. "I need to get to Starfleet Medical immediately. Rayna, contact my mother and give Nechayev the PADD."

Her other assistant nodded as Decan transported them to Starfleet Medical.

...

They brought her into emergency.

Kathryn felt very dizzy and her body felt like it was pounding. "What's wrong?" Kathryn asked the doctor. "Are my babies okay?" She started to panic as she placed a hand on her belly.

The doctor finished basic scans.

"They're fine, admiral. Let me lower your blood pressure first. Calming your breathing will help with that. Can you help me with that?"

Kayhryn nodded and closed her eyes to focus.

"I'm giving you some medicine to lower your high blood pressure first, okay? It will not hurt them."

She nodded and she placed a hypospray on her neck and tried to settle her breathing.

"Good, it's starting to go down. Keep with the slow breaths."

Kathryn followed the Dr. Polaris' instructions.

After five minutes, the doctor said,  
"Looks like your blood pressure has finally stabilized."

"Was that the problem?" Kathryn felt drained and a bit out of it but was not as dizzy anymore.

"You had several things going on, admiral. You were a bit low on iron and so we need to increase the iron prenatal supplement dosages. It wasn't very much so that isn't really a concern. You are nowhere at risk for anemia. However, you had very high blood pressure. When it is caused by pregnancy, it's called preeclampsia. It doesn't go away until the babies are born. However, it can get very serious and turn into eclampsia, which is more severe. But that shouldn't be a problem if we monitor it."

"What do I need to do?"

"Besides taking the new dosage of iron supplements you will need to take a blood pressure medication each day. It is specifically for pregnant women. It will have no side effects on the babies but you might feel a bit more nauseous than you already are in the mornings. I will provide you antacids."

"When can I go?" She asked.

"I want to keep you here for two days to see if there are any other changes that pop up with the medication and for observation."

Kathryn leaned her head back against the biobed.

"We see preeclampsia in mothers that may have certain risk factors. In your case, your age and because you have multiple fetuses."

"Katie! Your assistant messaged me. I'm here," Gretchen came to her room and felt her forehead.

Then, Gretchen being Gretchen, she grilled the doctor on what happened.

"Mom, _please_ ," she cried. Kathryn was getting more anxious again. The condition was apparently more serious than the doctor made it seem. Although her mom talked to the doctor outside, she could still hear the conversation.

Gretchen walked over and said, "I'm sorry, dear. I didn't mean to upset you," she patted her hand and gave a kiss to her forehead.

"I'll stay with you when you go back home to help monitor, okay? Or Phoebe if you prefer."

"That'll be fine. Can you bring Decan here? He's in the waiting room. He's the Vulcan who looks like he has a slightly permanently raised right eyebrow," Kathryn asked.

Gretchen returned with Decan and Kathryn said, "Cancel my appointments for the next two days. I'll be staying here under observation. Inform Nechayev. The doctor will provide you with her orders."

"Yes, admiral."

"You can go back to the office. If everything is in order, you and Rayna can leave early if you wish."

Decan gave a nod and left.

...

Chakotay waited for Kathryn to answer. When the screen finally activated, his face went to a smile to one of surprise.

"Hello, Gretchen. Is Kathryn there?"

"No, she's at Starfleet Medical."

His face went into worry mode and said, "What happened? What's wrong? Is she okay?'

Gretchen told Chakotay about the iron and the dangerously high blood pressure.

He ran a hand through his hair.

"I'll be staying with her and Phoebe will trade-off with me. The doctor suggested working from home so that she can be monitored."

"Okay. That's good. She should have someone there."

Gretchen saw that he was still worried.

"We'll take care of her. She's in safe hands."

"I should be there. I should be taking care of her. She is my _wife_!" He said with frustration.

"I know, I know. Edward and I had a similar situation when I was still carrying Katie. He was on a ship and I had work to do on Earth. It will be fine."

"I'll message her tomorrow at Medical. Which room is it?"

"403."

"Okay, thanks, Gretchen."

"Of course, Chakotay."

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

...

The next morning when Kathryn woke up she noticed a bouquet of roses and new instantly who it was from. She smiled and asked the nurse to bring the card over.

"They came in last night while you were sleeping," he said and handed her the card.

It read:

_Kathryn,_

_I hope you are feeling better. Your mom let me know what happened. Rest. Follow the doctor's orders even if you don't want to. Make sure you behave and take care of yourself. I'll message you at Starfleet Medical at our usual time._

_I love you,_

_Chakotay_

Kathryn smiled and then felt a throb in her belly.

"Did-is that a kick?" Kathryn asked the nurse. He walked over and placed a hand on her belly and felt it.

"Yes, someone's kicking in there."

She smiled and said to her belly, "Yes, those are from your daddy. He knows your mommy loves roses."

...

**The next morning.**

Chakotay was staring absent-mindedly out the viewport in the mess hall.

"You looked troubled and I know it's not about Martok," B'Elanna said as she sat down with her breakfast.

"Kathryn's having some complications with the pregnancy," he sighed.

B'Elanna reached her hand to his. "I'm sorry. Are they okay?"

"Yes but she'll have to wear a monitor to alert her when her blood pressure is too high. They kept her overnight and are keeping her today for observation and to see how she reacts to the medications. Apparently, the more fetuses, the more risk factors."

She nodded in understanding.

"She can put on a brave face but I know that even with her mom or sister there she won't be taking this well."

"Do you think if I gave her a message that it'll help? I mean, as a mother and as someone who had complications, too?"

"I think that would help a lot. Especially since most of our friends are on Voyager, still."

"I think I'll ask Sam to message her, and drop by, too."

"That sounds great."

"Chakotay, we're family. We'll look after them. Auntie B'Elanna is here."

He laughed and said, "Now that's something."

...

Chakotay waited for her to answer and she did.

"Hello, my love," he said.

"Hi, hon," she said. "I got the flowers and the note. Thank you."

"You're welcome. How are you doing?"

"Dr. Polaris says that the medication is working and it looks like I'm not having any side effects to it. I still have to wear this forever until the babies are born though," she showed the device on her neck that measure her blood pressure.

"At least it doesn't affect my clothing size but I feel like a Borg. A fat Borg," she said.

Chakotay chuckled and said, "I love you, anyways."

"Your children kicked today," she said.

"They did?"

"Yes. They are putting up a fight. That's how I know they're yours. But I don't know if it's the boy, girl, or both that are doing it."

"I guess I'll put my boxing training programs on standby," he joked. "So besides how you are physically doing, how are you doing in general?"

Her voice lowered. "I...I was a bit scared yesterday. I was in my office and I didn't know what was happening. I was fearing the worst. They had to give me sedative so I could sleep."

"I know. I didn't sleep well last night when I knew, either."

"Today I felt better. As long as my blood pressure is stable and I keep taking my supplements it should be fine. Dr. Polaris said I can still work but that I have to take it easy. She suggested working from home so that I would feel more relaxed. Thanks to Admiral Nechayev, she made that an order."

"Promise me that if it is too much that you'll hand the assignment to someone else."

"Chakotay, I-"

" _Promise me_ ," he said.

Kathryn sighed and said, "I promise."

"You're not crossing your fingers, are you?"

"She's not," he heard Gretchen say in the background.

"Good."

"Now tell me about your day," Kathryn asked.

...

**Two months later.**  
**Seventh month of pregnancy.**

"Oh, that was a big kick," Kathryn said.

"What are they even doing in there? Drumming up a band?" Phoebe said as she hand painted some details to the nursery.

The room had already been painted.  
Kathryn looked at the cribs as she folded some baby clothes that she got at a Starfleet baby shower before she was forced on leave.

Her monitor started to make some beeps and Phoebe put her brush down and sat her down on the chair she had been sitting in.

"You need your hypospray. I'll get it."

The more she looked at the cribs the higher the beeps pitched and she started to sob into the onesie.

Phoebe came back and placed the hypospray on her neck. Once she put the hypo down she wrapped her arms around her.

"It's okay, Katie, it's okay," she soothed and rubbed her back.

"It's not okay," she muffled and choked.

"Alright, you can tell me why but after you do the meditative breaths Dr. Polaris showed you."

Kathryn struggled with the gasps and hiccups from her sobs but eventually resorted to shaky breaths.

"Okay, now tell me."

"Chakotay told me he wanted to build a crib for our future baby before he left on Voyager."

"Ohhh. I see."

Kathryn nodded. "I miss him soo much, Phee."

"I know."

"I'm so scared. About the babies. About Chakotay. The house feels empty even with you and mom here," she started to cry again.

...

"She's not coping well, counselor," Phoebe messaged her current counselor since Dr. Troi was on the Enterprise.

"That's understandable. Especially since she just had her first Christmas as a newlywed and she didn't have her husband with her."  
...

Chakotay saw that the ladies had redecorated his house for Christmas as he saw the strings of lights in the background for over the last month.

They all tried to do as much as they could together over the comm but, of course, it wasn't the same.

He could tell Kathryn was hurting inside on her favorite holiday. They had been married for only a few months before he had to go captain Voyager on both early and urgent orders.  
She even was worried before they were engaged that something like this would happen.

He promised he would make it up to her ten-fold when he returned. But he would make sure he would be there for their births. He'd drop everything and steal a shuttle if he had to.

...  
**Two months later.**

Chakotay received word that the USS Enterprise-D had been heavily damaged by Praetor Shinzon's ship.

"Set course for the Enterprise," he said to the pilot.

"Course laid in, sir."

"Let's go."

They made it to the wreckage of the ships, where they also met the USS Exeter and the USS Potemkin.

Under Starfleet orders, the Potemkin was to remain with the bridge crew of the Enterprise to meet with the new and unstable Romulan Senate. Exeter and Voyager were to drag the Enterprise to Utopia Planetia with forcefields and split the evacuation of the crew onto both ships.

...

"He hasn't answered my last message. What if he's hurt? The last thing I heard was that Voyager was in Romulan space. They won't tell me anything!"

"Kathryn, calm down. Your blood pressure, remember?" Gretchen said.

"Gretchen's right," the Doctor said.

Kathryn nodded.

The EMH had come from Jupiter Station on the counselor's request. The counselor felt that a familiar face of a friend and the fact he was a doctor would alleviate some stress. Kathryn and the Doctor did contact each other over the course of the pregnancy and helped verify Dr. Polaris' diagnosis and actually praised her abilities. That reassurance helped a lot. He was delighted to visit. They let him stay as long as she wanted.

"Thanks, Doctor."

"Can I feel them again?" He said, also trying to take her focus off her present concern."

She smiled and nodded. He placed his photonic hand on her belly.

"Did you know that there had been a baby boom since Voyager?" He said.

"Really?"

"Yes, albeit they're mostly on other planets. I've gotten announcements from at least five former cremembers!"

Kathryn smiled and said, "I'm glad I could help."

"Would you like a foot massage and soak? I noticed your feet look a bit swollen."

"Ohh, that would be great," she said as she ate some blueberries, one of her pregnancy cravings.

After the foot soak and massage, they sat outside on the porch set.

The glass back door slid open and they looked to see who it was.

"Chakotay!" Kathryn gasped and stood up as quickly as she was able to.

He dropped his bag as she tried to wobble forward and they embraced.

"I've missed you so much," she started to cry.

"I'm here now," he said and gave her a long kiss.

He lifted her arms and stood back to look at her.

"Barefoot and pregnant," he chuckled.

"Yes. The Doctor gave my feet a soak and a massage. What are you doing here so quickly?"

"We had to evacuate some of the Enterprise's crew to Earth. I'll tell you the story later but now, I'm all yours. I'm on paternity leave and I told them to look for someone else to captain Voyager. I'm a landlocked man, now."

She hugged him tightly as she cried with happiness.

"It's alright, shhhhh, it's alright. I've got you. I've missed you, too, Kathryn. I have a surprise for you. Do you want to see it now or should I wait until you stop crying?" He said with a smile.

She giggled and said, "Show me."

Her husband took her by the hand and led her up the stairs up until they reached the nursery door.

"Close your eyes. No peeking," he said.

She did and he led her inside.

"Okay. Now, open."

She opened her eyes. Kathryn saw a beautifully hand carved rocking chair accompanied with two wooden rocking horses and teddy bears sitting on each one. There were roses and chocolates next to the chair.

"Oh, Chakotay..."

"Go ahead. Try it out."

Kathryn walked a few steps and sat in the rocking chair and rocked.

"It's comfortable and beautiful," she said, "and the rocking horses are so adorable. Thank you, hubby. I love you so much."

"I love you, too, honey."

Chakotay leaned down and gave her a kiss.

"This is the best Valentine's Day gift ever," she said.

...

Later that night after he made dinner they had a good soak in the rose petal-fille tub with candlelight and then went to bed naked.

He listened to her belly kick and kissed it.

"So have we finally narrowed down the names?" He said.

They had been discussing names for months in their messages.

"I think so," she said.

Chakotay massaged her breasts and she moaned.

"I think this mommy needs some personal Valentine's Day attention," he said.

His hand trailed under the swell of her belly and between her thighs. He started to stroke the outside.

"Ohh that feels nice. Just be careful not to go in or else the babies might come early."

"Okay," he said.

He kept stroking and said, "I didn't know you could get more beautiful but I was wrong."

"Mmm. I bet you say that to all the pregnant women," she joked as she started to pant.

"No. Only to my wife," he said.

Kathryn crashed as her orgasm quickly came.

"I needed that more than I realized," she said. "Your turn, husband."

She places her hand on his shaft and moved along.

"Oh, I can't wait to make proper love to you again," he said.

"Yes, but I think two is enough. What do you think?"

"Never," he joked and then she gave a tighter stroke.

"Okay, okay. Two is enough."

She continued to move her hand along his hard shaft until he exploded.

"That felt good," he said as he went to clean himself up.

"Indeed," she sighed with content 

...

**About two months later.**

"Uggggggghhhhhhhh!" She groaned and dropped the fork she was holding in the kitchen.

The sharp pain was intense.

"Kathryn!" Chakotay came running from the living room.

"Ohhhhhhhh!" She cried as she bent over with a hand on her knee and clutched belly 

"Breathe, breathe. I think you're going into labor. You know what to do from our classes. Breathe."

"Nooooo!" She said as her water broke.

"Yessss. Gretchen, Phoebe, Doctor! We're going to have a baby! Now!" He yelled outside the window to them and they ran in. They grabbed their things and were transported to Starfleet Medical.

"Breathe. I'm here, my love. Breathe."

He dabbed her face with a cool cloth as he held her hand.

Kathryn asked, "Can I push now?"

The Doctor said, "No, you are still not fully dilated."

"Oh, god. I just want them **OUT**!"

Dr. Polaris said, "I know. But you are getting close."

Kathryn said, "Chakotay. I'm glad we're having twins because I don't think I can do this again. I mean, what have you done to me?! UggggggghHHHHHH!"

He chuckled because Tom and B'Elanna warned this would happen.

"I just did what any good husband would," he teased.

"Oh, shut up," she said. "You just wanted the captain's chair. OhhhhhhhhhhHHHHH!"

He laughed and said, "Okay, you've got me. But you have no position to put me in the brig now."

"You can bear down and push now," Dr. Polaris said.

Kathryn started to push. She pushed and she pushed.

"That's it, honey, you're doing great," Chakotay said.

"I can see the head," said the Doctor.

"Keep on going, Kathryn."

Finally, a screaming baby was lifted out by the Doctor.

"We have the boy," the EMH said.

"Okay, my love. Just one more baby to go. Push."

She tried and said to her husband, "I'm so tired.'

"You're very close," Dr. Polaris said.

"Where's my woman warrior?" Chakotay asked into her eyes and brought their clutched hands up as if in solidarity.

Kathryn nodded and pushed. Another baby came out into Dr. Polaris' hands, also screaming. "And here's our girl," she said as she went to get her cleaned.

The nurse came and said, "I know you're in pain and you are tired but I need you to push out the remaining placenta."

After she did, Chakotay gave her multiple kisses on her forehead. "Thank you for our children."

The doctors came and placed both babies in her arms. Kathryn and Chakotay both placed a kiss on their foreheads.

"Do you have names prepared?" The Doctor asked.

Kathryn said as she looked at her dark-haired children whose eyes were closed, "Shannon Sekaya Janeway and Kolopak Edward Janeway."

They recorded the names on the birth certificates as she and her husband both held their children. It listed their hair as black and their eyes as blue.

...

Gretchen and Phoebe came in once Kathryn could be cleaned, could have a private time with her husband, and could feed her babies.

"Ohhh! My grandbabies!" She cried out happily.

Chakotay took the bundle in his arms and handed it to Gretchen.

"And who is this little one?"

"This is your grandson, Kolopak Edward Janeway."

She looked down and said, "Well, hello. You look like you'll be a heartthrob just like your father."

Chakotay blushed.

Kathryn handed her daughter to Phoebe. "This is your niece and goddaughter, Shannon Sekaya Janeway."

"Goddaughter?"

"Do you accept?" Kathryn asked with a weak and tired smile.

"Of course I'll be their godmother."

After the family got their turn, Tom and B'Elanna came in.

Chakotay said, "Meet Shannon Sekaya Janeway and Kolopak Edward Janeway."

Gretchen and Phoebe handed the babies off to them.

"Ohhhh. They look a lot like you, Chakotay," B'Elanna said.

Tom said, "Except the eyes. They're Kathryn's eyes," as Kolopak's eyes peeped open. Looks like they got the best parts."

Kathryn and Chakotay laughed.

Chakotay said to Tom, "How do you like my kids, godfather?

Tom's eyes opened wide. "Really?"

Chakotay nodded. "Kathryn made Phoebe the grandmother and I got to make you the godfather."

"The Godfather," Tom said in a muffled Italian accent to imitate the twentieth century movie. "I like the sound of that."

B'Elanna rolled her eyes.

Other people from the crew had crowded the hallways waiting to see them since Voyager was on leave. So much so that security had to make them wait outside or have them come by tomorrow.

. **..**

**About a month later.**

**May 20th.**

Kathryn was sound asleep in the rocking chair with Kolopak and Shannon, who were also asleep.

Chakotay quietly walked in and gently took each of his children and put them in their cribs for their mid-afternoon nap.

Kathryn stirred and woke up. He took the piece of cake from the dresser with a lit candle and brought it over. "Happy birthday, love of my life, my wife and mother to our beautiful children."

She smiled and took it.

"Thank you," she said.

She thought about what she said the future Admiral Janeway. Kathryn had said, _"There's got to be a way to have our cake and eat it too."_

"What are you thinking?" He said at her smile.

"What can I wish for when I have everything I've ever wanted?"

Chakotay gave a dimpled smile in reply. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Epilogue: 
> 
> Chakotay got an anthropology professorship at Starfleet Academy the following year. 
> 
> Kathryn began to work part-time as an admiral until her children got older. Later on, she retired and continued to work in their garden with Chakotay.
> 
> Their children, "Kole" and Shannon, entered Starfleet and ended up in command as well and became great friends with Miral.
> 
> That's it! It's been a fun and unexpected wild ride. Thank you to those who wanted me to add onto, "Dinner," especially TrekFlower. What was meant to be a quick angsty short-story be became a blossoming monster of love. 😄😊🥰
> 
> Written and completed 7/14-7/15/2020.  
> I don't own rights to Voyager. If I did...mwahahaha!

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own rights to Voyager.
> 
> Script info help from Chakoteya.net scripts.


End file.
